It’s the largest video game library in general. It’s the largest video game library on PC. Steam hosts Hunt Down the Freeman, an unauthorized and disastrous spinoff of Valve’s own Half-Life 2. In contrast, Steam, for better or worse, publishes everything under the sun. You’ll never mistake the PlayStation Store for the Nintendo eShop. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony also developed digital platforms for their respective consoles, and while those platforms host many cross-platform titles, they also provide a sense of curation and branding.

Now Steam hosts a wide variety of games for purchase and use in a common interface. With time, Valve opened Steam to other developers and transformed the platform into a digital marketplace. Initially, Steam ran updates for the physical copies of Counter-Strike and other games developed by Valve. It’s the culmination of a long and fascinating history on the other side-the PC side-of video game culture.Įighteen years ago, video game developer Valve, renowned for the sci-fi shooter series Half-Life, launched the PC gaming platform Steam. The new handheld video game console on the market this month is unlike the other handheld video game consoles launched in your lifetime.

Steam deck handheld