Private equity buyout would be the same problem but even faster.

So tencent or a saudi prince buys them and it will be fine guyyyyssss haha

Nothing ever bad happens under private ownership either right?

You think there aren't a bunch of greedy finance whores biding their time until Gabe dies in order to take over and enshitify everything so they can squeeze as much money out of Steam as possible?

Na. Even privatly traded companies can enshittify when it gets inherited to people not sharing the same vision as the one that made the company successful.

If you want to prevent enshittification more long term, convert it to a non-profit cooperative, with a work ethic that promotes providing the best service over short term profit.

You're right that going public would virtually guarantee they enshittify, but staying private does not guarantee they remain customer focused. It's still a business, and right now the only thing making it so good for customers, IMHO, is an ideological vision that favours long term stability, and steady profits. That is not the norm in the business world (of tech platforms).