Unsurprisingly, Epic Games CEO and frequent X poster Tim Sweeney has thoughts about the $900 million lawsuit against Valve in the UK, which recently got the go-ahead from a competition tribunal. Also unsurprisingly, given his competing store and past criticism of Steam, Sweeney approves of the action, and based on his related legal tussles with Apple and Google, thinks there's something to it.

The lawsuit, filed in 2024, very broadly alleges that Valve unfairly prevents game makers from offering their products at lower prices on other platforms and requires that all add-on content for games purchased on Steam also be purchased through Steam, and that Valve's "excessive commission" has resulted in inflated prices for UK consumers. Valve had argued that the suit should not be allowed to proceed as a collective action—functionally similar to a class action—but a Competition Appeal Tribunal disagreed, ruling earlier this week that the suit can proceed.

Sweeney has homed in on the DLC issue specifically. Although developers can sell DLC on other platforms and have it carry over to a user's Steam copy, Valve doesn't allow them to sell add-ons directly through in-game stores or to use their in-game UI to steer users to off-platform stores. This, Sweeney says, is "like a car dealership demanding 30% of gas purchases," and is one of the things he and Epic have successfully fought Apple and Google over.

Sweeney's comments naturally led to a flurry of dissenting responses, but he resolutely stood his ground: "Today, in the USA, developers are free to steer users of iOS and Android apps to competing purchase methods. Apple and Google collect 0% on those transactions. On computers and smartphones, Valve is the only major store still holding onto the payments tie and 30% junk fee."

The Epic CEO acknowledged in multiple replies that Steam keys or DLC can be purchased from other platforms, but has reiterated that the problem is that "developers can't offer alternative purchase options to customers IN-GAME" while following Valve's rules. It's a complaint that's effectively identical to the one at the core of Epic's legal wars against Apple and Google.

Epic is not directly involved with the lawsuit, but combatting Steam's 30% fee and prohibition on steering users to off-platform purchase methods for add-ons was one of the founding goals of the Epic Games Store. In 2019, Sweeney went so far as to say that if Steam dropped its fee to 12%, he would stop pursuing Epic Games Store exclusives and even consider putting Fortnite on the platform.

Meanwhile, Epic has demonstrated a willingness to spend enormous amounts of money pursuing the principle against some of the biggest tech companies on the planet. Calling Steam's 30% cut a "junk fee" is maybe a little much, but I also don't think there's any doubt that the industry is slowly trending away from it—led, in part, by Epic's efforts.

Steam has managed to maintain its big cut and restrictive policies because it has such a dominant position in the market—being first sometimes really is best—but if this lawsuit in the UK (and a similar action slowly unfolding in the US) go badly for Valve, it may be forced to dial things back drastically. I'm sure Sweeney will have some choice thoughts on that if it happens, too.

The next Public Test Realm on the road to season 12 of Diablo 4 starts in just a few days, and Blizzard's unveiled what aspects of the next patch players will be getting to try. Killstreaks are top of the list, with new items, sigils and more following closely behind.

Exactly what they sound like, Killstreaks are a mechanic that makes you more powerful the more bodies you rack up. Keep the kills coming, and you'll get particular bonuses. Per the PTR patch notes, there are five tiers to rack up: Killstreak, Carnage, Devastation, Bloodbath, and Massacre.

Needless to say, clocking up a massacre will be satisfying. Getting one of these streaks will net you extra experience and some seasonal reputation, on top of knowing you're mowing through your adversaries.

Then we have Bloodied items, which are designed to assist in all your combos. They add bonuses to the streaks, for extra rewards and momentum. For instance, the Rapid Parashu gives six seconds of Berserking per 25 kills.

These pieces of kit can be both Ancestral and Bloodied, and they offer three kinds of additional rewards. Rampage, which draws from your killstreak tier; Feast, which uses your total kills; and Hunger, which affects your rewards based on the current tier. These additions alone are going down well.

"So glad Killstreaks are finally back! Seriously missed these from Diablo 3 while leveling," says a top-rated comment on Reddit. "It was so satisfying to keep the kill chain going to build the XP combo. It creates a little mini game," adds another.

Bloodied Sigils are coming too, making the area into a Bloodied Lair when used. On top of the escalated threat, you'll summon a Relentless Butcher, who constantly chases you and can only be temporarily defeated. Using this sigil guarantees Bloodied item drops - no pain, no gain. They'll be available in Nightmare Dungeons, Infernal Hordes, and Lair Bosses, and you can only access them once you're up to Torment I difficulty.

You'll find a small selection of items and other little changes during the test period as well. The PTR for 2.6.0 is available for one week starting February 3, and Diablo 4 season 12 kicks off proper on March 10, to be followed by Lord of Hatred, the next major expansion, on April 28.

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