Best value
Valve
8.3Steam, Half-Life, Portal, CS2, Dota 2
Best forPC gamers who want the best deals and the most open platform — Steam's seasonal sales discount games 50–90%, and Valve's own titles like CS2 and Dota 2 are fully free-to-play with no pay-to-win.
Scores — click any row to see our rationale
Game Quality▼9/10
Player Respect▼8.5/10
Catalog Depth▼5/10
Value▼9.5/10
Innovation▼9.5/10
Known for
Half-Life 2 (2004)Portal 2 (2011)Half-Life: Alyx (2020)Counter-Strike 2 (2023)Dota 2 (2013)
Pros
✓Steam's seasonal sales regularly discount 10,000+ games 50–90% off — the best deal-finding platform in PC gaming
✓CS2 and Dota 2 are free-to-play with all competitive gameplay content unlocked; cosmetics are purely aesthetic
Cons
✕Valve releases very few original games — only ~15 major first-party titles in 27 years, with no new Half-Life or Portal since 2020 and 2011 respectively
✕Steam takes a 30% revenue cut on all game sales, a structural cost that publishers often pass to consumers via higher base prices