Hardware manufacturer Xi3 has opened up its online store to pre-orders for the Piston console. Shown at CES as an example of Valve software's Steam Box game console concept and the first to officially go on sale, the Piston is effectively an entire personal computer with modular components, housed in a compact case.
Microsoft is not afraid of Valve's Steam Box game console concept, according to one executive. Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business of Microsoft, does not view Valve as a competitor to the Xbox platform yet when compared to other established gaming hardware companies, though does admit that the game developer is "doing some innovative stuff."
Valve has launched its Steam game distribution platform on Linux, after a lengthy period of beta testing. Initially announced in July 2012, the internal project has now opened up the store on Ubuntu, with interested users being able to download the client through Canonical's Ubuntu Software Center at no charge.
(Updated with a statement from Gabe Newell) Following a tweet Tuesday confirming the firing of human interface engineer Jeri Ellsworth, Valve is apparently in the midst of larger staff cuts. Valve has indirectly confirmed reports of the departures, with the purge of eight staffers from the staff list website that were present as recently as a week ago. The firings include Valve's director of business Jason Holtman, and a handful of development personnel and engineers.
At least partially confirming the rumors from last year, game developer and digital distribution house Valve and hardware manufacturer Xi3 have teamed up to announce a de facto Steam Box. The hardware, codenamed "Piston," is being previewed at the Consumer Electronics Show in both Xi3's booth and the Valve presence at the Las Vegas show.
Valve Software is planning to release a PC package aimed towards living-room gaming. Though stopping short of a console, Gabe Newell confirmed the company's plans to release the previously-rumored "Steam Box" by next year, and follows the "stronger than expected" reaction to Steam's Big Picture mode by gamers.
Steam online store owner Valve Software has announced the availability of the first non-game software for purchase on the online venue. While the Steam game store is cross-platform and includes Macintosh OS X software, the current seven offerings are Windows only. During the first week of Steam Applications availability, all titles are ten percent off.
Valve has effectively confirmed the wish to build hardware on their website. A job posting for an "Industrial Designer" with six years of hardware product development experience has appeared on the company's corporate pages. This has added weight to the previous rumors of a Steam-based console, although the extent of the company's hardware vision is still not clear.
Valve Software has opened its crowd-sourced product release scheme. Steam Greenlight will allow game creators to list their titles on the service and allow users to vote for which they wish to see put onto the service in the future, effectively taking a significant amount of product vetting work off the Valve employees. Large game publishers will still be able to add their titles to the system though existing procedures.
Valve has released Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a long-awaited update to its multiplayer first-person shooter. The game is available through Steam, and marks just the second time that Valve itself has done a simultaneous Mac/Windows launch through the service. In the past couple of years Valve has turned more attention to Mac support for both first- and third-party releases, compensating for the fact that most Steam content is otherwise Windows-centric.
Valve is set to open its Steam store up for non-gaming content. The formal announcement confirms speculation that was fueled last month through the company's mobile apps, which would see Steam gain categories for various productivity and creativity genres. The first non-gaming titles are slated to begin digital distribution on September 5, in a move that evolves Steam into a general app store beyond its original gaming focus.
Valve is bringing the Steam game distribution platform to Ubuntu. A company blog for the project tells of an 11-person team porting not only Steam, but also Source engine-powered game Left 4 Dead 2. According to the post, co-founder of Valve Gabe Newell has been interested in a Linux port of Steam and Source for some time, and last year formed the team devoted to the project.
Game download service Steam may be moving into other markets, according to its Android app (Free, Google Play). Genres listed in the mobile app now show non-gaming listings, suggesting the Valve Software service may transition toward a general app store. The move itself would be a natural progression for the service, and would see it competing against Apple's Mac App Store.
As promised by Valve in 2011, the follow-up to one of the most popular player-versus-player online games of all time, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is shipping for the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, and Steam for Windows and OS X on August 21. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a combined effort from both Valve, and Hidden Path Entertainment. Demos are available for play at this week's Electronics Entertainment Expo.
Oakley is developing its own equivalent to Google's Project Glass with a possibly more independent design. CEO Colin Baden said in an interview with Bloomberg published Tuesday that the project would initially focus on sports, serving as a heads-up display for a workout. It would likely spread to other fields, he said.
Valve Software researcher and veteran programmer Mike Abrash has posted a long retrospective that has also gone into detail about wearable computing studies. He had started on it after realizing there was no immediate need for more work on Portal 2 and saw it as a chance to explore always-available computing. Wearable hardware could be a practical reality within 10 years and possibly under five, he said, and the research would help speed this along.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was supposedly spotted at Valve Software's Bellevue headquarters on Friday. His purpose and who he talked to weren't mentioned by the AppleInsider contact. Most likely, he would be visiting company founder Gabe Newell.
Valve has taken to Twitter to announce that it is looking to hire electrical engineers. Aligning with a recent rumor that the software company is looking to develop a gaming console, the posting seeks to entice potential applicants with ambitions to help Valve ‘invent whole new gaming experiences.’ The successful applicant or applicants will need experience and knowledge of ‘ARM and x86 system design’.
Last week, rumors began to circulate that Valve was working on the Steam Box, a hardware gaming console. Today, the online gaming software maker has clarified that it is not planning to produce such a device any time soon. The company also stated that it's not partnering with anyone on such a project to date.
Valve Software is entering the console race by developing its own hardware platform, new rumors brought up early Saturday. The approach outlined by The Verge would have typical PC hardware with a Core i7, 8GB of RAM, and NVIDIA graphics, but it would serve as a fixed platform for three to four years. Developers would then target their games to the system, which as expected would use Steam as its primary way to get games.
Valve Software founder Gabe Newell in an interview Monday disclosed that his company was considering getting into hardware. While careful to couch it for Penny Arcade as contingent on what the rest of the market did, the Portal and Left 4 Dead co-creator divulged that the company might make its own wearable computing. The company had already been experimenting with the technology, Newell said, and it would get involved if there weren't signs partnerships or independent work didn't step in first.
After a brief period of exclusivity, Valve has opened up the Steam Mobile beta to the general public. Previously just a select group of Steam users were allowed to try the beta, although invites handed out to testers gradually increased the userbase. Free Android and iPhone versions of the mobile client are available.
Valve has partly fulfilled one of the most common wishes of gamers Thursday by posting Steam Mobile. Versions for both iOS (App Store) and Android (Market) lets users both keep up with their Steam chats and groups while away. They can go so far as to buy games for the Mac or Windows that they can start downloading immediately when they get home.
Valve Software co-founder Gabe Newell warned in a message to users that a forum hack found on November 6 had also touched on vital account information. After an investigation, the Portal 2 developer found that the unnamed intruders had gotten into a database that also had account names, e-mail, encrypted credit card numbers and passwords, and purchase records. While Valve had no reason to think the account information itself had been compromised, Newell advised gamers to watch their credit card activity "closely."
Developer Valve Software has released Portal 2, a sequel to a game originally bundled with The Orange Box in 2007. Portal 2 differs not only in being a separate retail product, but also a full-length title rather than a small side-project. Windows, Mac, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are launching simultaneously. The Mac and Windows versions are bundled together, whether on Steam or at retail.
Valve Software today began giving out cryptic teases for what's presumed to be the launch of Portal 2 for the Mac. MacNN was given a piece along with several others that all follow the same theme. Our copy read "troops be cores," which like the others is an anagram of "reboot process" and hints at the reborn GlaDOS AI that became the villain of the original game.
Valve is investigating the possibility of expanding Steam to iOS and Android, a member of the official Steam forums claims to have learned. The person says he was told of the company's plans in speaking with co-founder Gabe Newell at Valve headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. Steam is currently only available for Windows and Mac, and even then with a much stronger emphasis on the former.
Razer had an unusually strong presence at CES this year and brought two big devices: its Hydra motion controller for computers and its Switchblade handheld PC, both of which we saw first-hand at the show. The Hydra was the truly functional example and impressed us with a specially optimized version of Valve's Portal 2. The new version had a handful of new objects and puzzles designed around the controller's dual motion, dual analog stick setup.
Microsoft's Windows 8 could have a much stronger focus on gaming, a slip alleged today. The developer is said making gaming not just important but a "key component for the whole OS." What that would entail wasn't given to the TechRadar source.
Driven by fears of its developing an unassailable monopoly, big games retailers in the UK have said they will boycott selling games that support the Steam digital games distribution platform. According to a Thursday MCV report, retailers' concerns are growing that selling games with Steam will bring gamers to buy games using the download service exclusively. It;s estimated the US studio Valve that runs Steam commands 80 percent of the PC download market.
As promised yesterday, Valve has launched the Mac version of Left 4 Dead 2, its zombie-themed first-person shooter. To promote the game though the company is now also offering a special discount, pricing the title at $6.79 instead of a standard $20. A free expansion, The Sacrifice, has been made available simultaneously.
The Mac port of Left 4 Dead 2 is set to launch on Tuesday, Valve has announced. Players assume the role of one of four armed survivors, trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse ravaging the American south; five primary campaigns chronicle the group's escape. While playable with AI teammates, the game is meant to be experienced online, where modes such as Versus and Survivor allow a second four-player team to control the zombies.
Olympic Developments has filed a lawsuit through the US District Court for the Central District of California, LA Division, charging several companies with violating two of its patents. The first patent, Transactional Processing System, describes a way of offering products and services through credit card transactions. The concept also involves real-time authorization. The second patent, Device for Controlling Remote Interactive Receiver, specifically describes a remote that can save financial information.
Valve will provide some extra resources to Mac developers using the Steamworks community infrastructure, says Jason Holtman, the company's business development director. In exchange for the closer integration with Steam, developers should soon get "a portion" of Valve's graphics code to accelerate production. Specifically the code is meant to help with the Mac OS X graphics layer, considered the biggest obstacle to Mac game development. Windows is typically more concentrated on game support.
Following up on an earlier claim, Valve has released the first Mac version of Counter-Strike: Source through Steam. Players take sides with a team of terrorists or counter-terrorists as the former try to plant a bomb and ensure it isn't defused. Until today, the popular multiplayer game has only been available for Windows users.
A Mac version of Counter-Strike: Source should be available through Steam next week, developer Valve says. The company has generally committed to releasing new Mac games once a week, but missed this week as a result of having to present at E3 in Los Angeles. There the company showed early gameplay footage of Portal 2, due to come to the PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.
Apple, ATI and NVIDIA are working with Valve on improving the performance of Source-engine games, says Valve's Robert Barris. Source is used in all of Valve's current titles, such as Portal and Team Fortress 2. These have so far suffered in speed, however, next to the original versions developed for Windows. Drivers are largely to blame, according to Barris.
According to Valve’s official Team Fortress 2 blog, the multiplayer warfare game may be coming to Steam for Mac tomorrow. While the company has yet to explicitly state the exact date, the latest post suggests the big announcement rhymes with “Speem Gortress amavailable on the Babac”. Back in March of this year, Valve announced that all of its Source engine games would be coming to the Mac platform. The announcement answered several questions regarding the Mac version of Team Fortress 2.
The launch of Steam on the Mac has seen the Mac surge to 8.9 percent of the audience in less than a month, Valve's May hardware survey said. The platform was only available from May 12 but has already overtaken Windows Vista 64-bit in share. Most of the Mac share was using a 64-bit version of Snow Leopard.
Valve on Wednesday added several new titles, including Half-Life 2, to the Steam gaming service on Mac or Windows platforms.. The company also added two earlier versions of the game, Half Life: Episode One and Episode Two.
Valve gave Mac users a hint of Half-Life 2's release on Steam tomorrow with a teaser video (posted below). The spot parodies Apple's 1984 ad and uses Half-Life 2 characters in place of the original actors, such as Dr. Breen as Big Brother, Alyx as the runner and City 17 residents in place of proles. The short spot proclaims freedom from having game ownership "dictated by platform," an allusion to the option of re-downloading some games for free through Steam Play.
Valve as part of its first weekly update to the Mac Steam library revealed that Macs make up a disproportionately large number of game buyers. About 11 percent of downloads on the service now go to Macs, two thirds of which are portables. The developer also took a jab at Windows and noted that Portal was a fifth as likely to crash on Mac as it was on Windows platforms.
Wrapping up a beta period, Valve has officially released the first Mac version of Steam. The software functions as a way of buying, launching and updating games, as well as well as joining multiplayer matches and tracking groups and achievements. Titles bought through Steam can be installed on multiple computers and multiple platforms at no extra cost.
Mac users with gaming roots are no doubt eager to load Steam for Mac when it hopefully goes public on May 12th. It will mark the first time that many of the best games in recent years will be available for the Mac and could catch the platform up to Windows in grand fashion. MacNN and Electronista have had the opportunity to participate in the beta and can give a clue as to whether or not it will be worth the wait -- as well as a test to see if it's worth abandoning that Boot Camp partition.
Valve Software tonight sent a quick note that Steam for the Mac will officially launch May 12th. The news comes shortly after the start of a beta but puts the release about a month later than its original April target. Which games would launch, and the final system requirements, weren't publicly mentioned.
Apple participated in bringing Valve games and the Steam platform to Macs, says John Cook, Valve's director of Steam development. Cook elaborates that Valve has been "working with them [Apple] a bunch" while growing accustomed to Mac development. "They've been a great partner so far and we look forward to growing our relationship with them over time," he tells AppleInsider.
Confirming earlier reports, Valve on Monday announced that it will brings its Source gaming engine and Steam distribution service to the Mac platform sometime next month. Previous leaks indicated Portal 2 will represent the company's first simultaneous release on Mac and Windows.
One of the Valve games coming to the Mac has been confirmed as Portal 2. The information comes from a preview in Gameinformer magazine, which also cites the Xbox 360 as an intended platform alongside the main target, PCs. The game is due in the fall, though whether all three versions will release simultaneously is uncertain.
Valve is indeed planning to port some of its most popular games to the Mac, confirms the developer's marketing VP, Doug Lombardi. A teaser image (seen below) makes reference to Apple's famous "Get a Mac" ads, and the characters of Mac and PC played by Justin Long and John Hodgman. Standing in their place are turrets from Portal and Team Fortress 2, implying that these will be two of the first games to be ported.
Valve is preparing a Mac version of the Steam gaming platform, evidence suggests. On Wednesday, Windows users were given the option of downloading a new beta interface, featuring changes like a WebKit-based browser, an improved appearance and customizable game groups. Buried within the Steam/Graphics folder, however, are images for 10 Mac-specific buttons. Within Steam/Resource/Menus, there is also a new "osx.menu" file.
