i doubt it's a hate boner tbh, it just needs to be communicated that way if he wants the slightest chance of success here. their real game is that they saw the 30% cut steam makes from most games and decided it's free real estate, that it is the way they'll keep themselves rich after fortnite's hype cycle runs out. the problem is, they haven't put in the decade of work to everything gamers want that would justify that cut -- it's actually exceedingly hard to beat steam in their own game, so instead epic tries to breed hatred for steam to take their cut through duplicitous marketing as opposed to genuinely just outcompeting them.

i'm not defending tim sweeney here (in fact i'm calling him a lying fuck), but i think he's just a lying fuck, not a hater. the hate is just a marketing strategy. but who knows, maybe he got in his own head and started actually hating valve after he couldn't beat them this way