[thenewnewguy]

> Rent-seeking is the extraction of economic rent without providing new wealth

I assume what you mean is "providing new value"? Regardless, Steam doesn't fit this description at all:

- Valve doesn't own the vast majority of games on Steam (i.e. they aren't just buying IP and "rent-seeking" using it)

- Steam adds value that consumers want, which is why it is so popular (friends, achievements, marketplace, workshop, etc)

- Even ignoring the previous point, the basic premise of a game store isn't rent-seeking, because download bandwidth and easy installation are added value by themselves

- Steam isn't a walled garden: they do not prevent you from selling on other stores or pay for exclusives or other similar behavior - Steam wins by out-competing the competition, it doesn't create artificial advantages for itself