Valve allows makers to 3D print and sell their merchandise
Valve, the company behind the Dota, Half-life, Portal and Left 4 Dead series’, has partnered with Shapeways to allow fans to reproduce and sell merchandise and figures from their favourite games.
3D printing is a very disruptive technology. It is not the first of its kind to worry big corporations and affect their business models however, therefore large rights-holders have had a decade to learn from previous mistakes. Aggressively law-suiting infringers over music and movies on the internet didn’t work, it just created bad press. Therefore, this latest move from Valve suggests a strategy of collaboration rather than aggression, a willingness to work with fans instead of against them.
Under this agreement, makers and fans can design, print and sell Valve-related merchandise without fear of a takedown request. In addition, makers can product accessories or mods for Valve’s hardware within this agreement. Such hardware includes the Steam Controller, and the Steam Link.
Fan-made Half Life pendant
Of course this isn’t just Valve being charitable. There’s two clear motives: money and good PR. The first is because whenever a related product sells on Shapeways, Valve get 10% in royalties. The second is obvious, if you let your fans remake your products, they’ll love you for it. It is also worth noting that no royalties are deducted for modifications on Steam hardware.
This is great for Shapeways too. Masses of Valve fans will now swarm to their site to buy and sell their fan-made creations. Tom Finn, Shapeways’ Interim CEO agreed, stating “We’re thrilled that Valve has decided to embrace and empower its fan community in this way, and we’re confident it will pave the way for a new movement in companies engaging with fandoms.”
A collaborative response
This response is a far more forward-thinking response than many other companies have taken. Disney have notably tried to stifle infringement on fan-made 3D printed products. Disney is a huge company, so if 3D printing has them worried, it’s a big deal.
Puck, a fan-made reproduction from Dota 2
A quick scan through Shapeways’ site shows many products that look very similar to trademarked content. A popular example is reproductions of Pokemon characters like Pikachu or Charmander. Pokemon actually sell their own “official” versions, but for 10x the price it is no wonder people are buying fan-made reproductions instead. Instead of competing at a higher price point, Valve have taken the “mob boss” route, allowing trade to continue whilst taking a cut of everything. This is probably the best route going forwards. Valve can utilise the popularity of their games whilst engaging fans, a win-win.
Whether this is the beginning of a trend of collaborative large companies remains to be seen. It’s already happened in the movie industry, a happy medium was reached with subscription services like Netflix. The same occurred in the music industry with streaming platforms like Spotify and Tidal. Perhaps this is 3D printing’s version, a sort of acceptance that your rights will be infringed upon, but working with fans anyway. I doubt any large corporations are jumping at the opportunity, but it may be the best overall response.
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