Over time, Steam has begun offering products other than video games, with non-gaming software being allowed onto the store starting in September 2012, featuring compatibility with Steamworks features such as Steam Cloud. Steam is also commonly used in internet cafés, due both to the popularity of Valve's multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2, as well as Steam's PC Café program, which offers a number of tools, licenses, and discounts for internet cafés wishing to use the service. The service also frequently sees concurrent user counts of over 20 million, setting a lifetime record of over 26 million concurrent users in February 2021. Dylan Fitterer, the creator of Audiosurf, went so far as to say that Steam is 'the dream place to be' for independent game developers.ĭespite early grievances with the platform's performance and user-experience, Steam has become wildly popular among PC gamers, with the service reaching a reported 25 million active users by January 2010, and a reported 120 million active users by January 2021. In it's early stages, Steam was also instrumental in the success of certain independent games, advertising such titles as Altitude and World of Goo on its front page alongside higher profile games like Fallout 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV. Since then, it has become a popular marketplace for publishers large and small, becoming the primary digital distribution system for PC games. However, starting in 2005, Valve began signing deals with third-parties to bring other games onto the platform, starting with Rag Doll Kung Fu. Originally, Steam was created solely as an easy distribution and update system for Valve's own games, especially the popular Counter-Strike series and the then-upcoming Half-Life 2. At launch, it was widely criticized due to various bugs and frequent server issues, however, over the years it has vastly improved and is now seen as a fast, stable, and reliable service. First revealed at GDC (Game Developers Conference) in 2002, Steam was officially released to the public on September 12, 2003. Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, and communications platform created and maintained by Valve Corporation. Overview Steam Homepage, taken from 3 June 2018

Download avowed steam