twenty

Valve has been charging a 30% commission on Steam for twenty years. Now it’s your turn to explain why before a judge.

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Valve will have to defend its business model before the British courts after the Competition Appeal Court of London authorized on January 26 a class action lawsuit that could cost £656 million, about $900 million. The accusation: the American company abuses its dominant position in the PC games market with commercial practices that keep prices artificially high and limit competition between digital distributors. The demand. Vicki Shotbolt, activist specializing in digital rights and CEO of Parent Zonefiled the legal action in June 2024. It represents approximately 14 million British users who have purchased video games or additional content through Steam since 2018. The case is based on three arguments: first, it questions the 30% commission that Valve charges on each transaction on Steam. The prosecution considers this fee excessive and maintains that it has a direct impact on the final price. The second argument attacks “price parity obligations”: contractual restrictions that would prevent studios and distributors from offering their titles at more competitive prices on other platforms. Valve would have intervened in specific cases when detecting more aggressive discounts outside of Steam. The third point points out a retention mechanism: whoever purchases a base game on Steam must purchase all subsequent downloadable content exclusively on that platform. Other cases. The British case is not an isolated episode. In the United States, independent studios Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios filed antitrust lawsuits against Valve in 2021. They were initially dismissed, but the plaintiffs reformulated their arguments and resubmitted them in 2022. A court ordered the two cases to be merged. Since then, any developer, publisher or individual who has paid commissions to Valve on sales since January 28, 2017 can join. David Rosen, founder of Wolfire Games, explained which took legal action after Valve’s direct intervention when it tried to offer lower prices on other platforms. In August 2024, four players from California, Florida, and Missouri filed a separate lawsuit accusing Steam of “strangling competition with blatantly anti-competitive pricing restrictions.” Antitrust. The lawsuits against Valve are part of a broader pattern of antitrust litigation. The most relevant precedent is the confrontation between Epic Games and Apple: the developer of ‘Fortnite’ implemented an alternative payment system that avoided the 30% commission of the App Store. Apple won most points in the litigation, but had problems in certain states such as California. The case against Google had a more forceful outcome: Epic demonstrated that the company had illegally monopolized the Android ecosystem, which will force Google to allow competing app stores on its devices until November 2027. Antitrust. The lawsuits against Valve fit into a broader pattern of antitrust litigation. The most relevant precedent is the confrontation between Epic Games and Apple: The developer of ‘Fortnite’ implemented an alternative payment system that avoided the 30% commission from the App Store. In May 2025Fortnite returned to the Apple store. The case against Google had a stronger outcome: Epic managed to prove that the company had illegally monopolized the Android ecosystem, which will force Google to allow competing app stores on its devices until November 2027. The magnitude of Valve. Steam hosted more than 19,000 video games during 2025, generating total revenues of $11.7 billion. The income that Valve obtains exclusively from its commissions on sales increased from 1.1 billion dollars in 2015 to an estimated 3.2 billion in 2024, tripling in less than a decade. Additionally, Valve produces approximately $50 million in revenue per employee, an exceptional figure even in the technology sector. The London court has not yet set a date for the trial, which will determine whether these practices constitute abuse of a dominant position. If the lawsuit is successful, the affected British users could receive compensation for the extra costs that, according to the accusation, they have been paying for years. In Xataka | Amazon wanted to surpass Steam and spent 15 years spending 250 times more. It has only served them to enter into crisis

We have found pfas in more than twenty beers

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We usually refer to them as the “eternal chemicals” or by the acronym, which refer to their technical name: perfluoroalquilated substances and polyfluoroalquiladas. These compounds have become one of the greatest global environmental concerns, but we also suspect that our health is also threatened by them. The problem is that, in addition to “eternal”, we are discovering that these chemicals are almost ubiquitous. In beer. A study conducted in the United States He has found That 95% of the beers analyzed contained traces of pfas, the dreaded “eternal chemicals.” The most likely origin of pollution would be in the water used in the elaboration of this fermented drink. PFAS Perfluoroalquilated and polyfluoroalized substances are a group of synthetic compounds (we have created about 4,700 compounds of this type) that stand out for the little that interact with the chemicals of their surroundings, something that is produced by the union between fluorine and carbon atoms. This makes them Very useful compounds In the industry and manufacturing of objects, from nonstick pans to containers and hygiene products. In this advantage is your curse: by decomposing with great difficulty, these compounds tend to accumulate in nature and in our body. When they finally decompose, they can give rise to the appearance of harmful compounds such as trifluoroacetic acid. Set the beer. In its study, the team modified the analysis system used by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) American to study the levels of PFAS in drinking water. They used this modified tool to analyze the presence of compounds in 23 beers. They chose beers produced both in areas with documented cases of water pollution, as well as well -known national and international beers whose elaboration unknown water sources were used. The team not only found that 95% of the sample contained these chemicals, also observed a correlation between water pollution in the beer production environment and the presence of pollutants in the final product, at least among the beers made locally. The study was published In an article In the magazine ACS Environmental Science & Technology. A permeable problem. The study shows, The responsible team stands outhow pollution in a source (water in this case) can be extended to a variety of products. This highlights the need to raise awareness of different sectors about the need to limit exposure to this type of compounds. “As an occasional beer drinking room, I wondered if the pfas in aquifers were making their way to our pints,” explained in a press release Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, who led the study. “I hope these findings inspire water and policy treatment strategies that help reduce the probability of (find) pfas when throwing beer in the future.” The wine does not get rid. If someone thinks that the solution is to go to the wine, we have bad news. A few months ago the environmental association European bread (PHASE Action Network Europe) He alerted too of the presence of these substances in the wine of the continent, including one of the wines produced in Spain. In Xataka | A company has developed a new system to get rid of “eternal chemicals.” The trick: bubbles Image | Elevate

Madrid’s plan to resurrect a road that has been dead for more than twenty years

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Madrid has a ghost highway. It is not that it appears and disappears, it is always present. Nor is it that ghosts pass through her. We don’t know that. What is certain is that cars do not happen. If the few neighbors who want to take a walk through a 12 -kilometer asphalt block that does not lead anywhere. Almost 20 years later they want to finish it. Paralyzed. 2005. Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). The works of the MP-203 begin. The goal is to decongest the A-2 highway at its entrance to Madrid. The intention is to offer an alternative route to those who, at the outset, go further south. Start in the A-2 as it passes through Alcalá de Henares, destiny the A-3 as it passes through Vallecas. Two years later, the works were abandoned. Cintra, the concessionary company with the right to exploitation for the next 30 years after disbursement of more than 100 million euros stopped the works. From the Government of the Community of Madrid (PP), they said, first, that the efforts with the Government (then PSOE) had squandered the project. Subsequently, with the PP governing in Spain, the problem seemed to be in the relationship with Adif, on the occasion of a passage under the high speed Madrid-Barcelona. Cintra said the ball was on the roof of the regional government. All chaos can be reviewed in this article The country 2013. The Ghost Highway. By then, the road had been paralyzed for six years, without moving even one more meter from there where Cintra, 70 million euros spent, had left it. The residents of Alcalá de Henares did not know that in 2025 they were still going to have 12.5 kilometers paved from a highway anywhere. Because the beginning and end of the highway is the same: sand. Since the project was launched 20 years ago, the highway remains in the same state. Only the pedestrians who venture to take a walk through an environment of postpocalyptic reminiscences are passed. The MP-203 did not enjoy the global rescue that received the Spanish toll roads mediated the next decade. Now yes? 20 years after the works began. 18 years after his abandonment. The Community of Madrid has included in its Regional Road Plan for the 2025-2032 period the intention of carrying out the MP-203 spoiled project. The information brings it 20 minuteswho point out that the initial plan goes to begin the works in 2026 and have the road ended in 2028. To launch the project again, the Community of Madrid estimates that 58.5 million euros will be necessary. This figure would be added to the 70 million paid to Ferrovial (last responsible for the works) for compensation for not having finished the works at the time after the company made the initial investment. The changes? The most obvious: cars will circulate. Or, at least, they will not do it illegally as those who dispute the victory in the races that are organized there. Nor will the specialists who, this time legally, star in the filming that are consent there. In addition, the road is no longer faced as a toll road. The intention is that the link is completely free. Of course, in order to get to fruition, the final plan must be approved before the end of the year. If we get ahead, the road will end two decades after planning. Photo | Google Maps In Xataka | Spanish roads have a serious maintenance problem and the construction companies a solution: that you pay it

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