Steam
Steam is a broadband business platform for direct software delivery and
content management. At its core, Steam is a distributed file system and shared
set of technology components that can be implemented into any software
application. With Steam, developers are given integrated tools for
direct-content publishing, flexible billing, ensured-version control,
anti-cheating, anti-piracy, and more.
Steam consumers enjoy the benefit of starting their applications within minutes of confirming their purchase. They can access their applications from any PC. They are no longer challenged to find the latest updates for these applications. And they no longer need to wonder if their device drivers are compatible with the latest software.
The Steam Interface
Once you've installed Steam, all of the following features are available on your desktop and while you're playing Steam games.
Instantly access your favourite games
The full Steam library and all future Steam releases are at your fingertips. Choose from over 1500 games from various developers. After you've purchased a game, download it immediately and start playing.
Join the Steam Community
Now it's easy to find someone to play with, meet up with friends, connect with groups with similar interests, and host and join chats, matches, and tournaments. Best of all, it's all free.
Chat with your friends while gaming
With Steam's "Friends" service, you can talk to your friends while you play. You can also see when they're playing games and easily join the same servers together.
Easily browse multiplayer game servers
Steam's integrated server browser makes it easy to navigate thousands of Internet game servers.
Receive automatic game updates
Hunting for patches and downloading from unorganized web sites is so twentieth-century. On Steam, your games stay up-to-date by themselves. No hassles.
Play your games on any PC or Mac
Once you have a Steam account, you can sign in from any PC to access your games. Your games are associated with your account, not your computer. Steam is also compatible with the Mac with a growing number of compatible games.
Enjoy Steam-only special offers
From pre-release discounts to free-play weekends, Steam delivers what gamers value most.
Steam on the go
Steam is now available for both Android and iOS devices. Click here for more details.
Steam would update the games automatically, and implement better anti-piracy and anti-cheat measures. They managed their whole game catalogue on Steam and with its success attracted other publishers and developers to release their products on Steam.
Steam consumers enjoy the benefit of starting their applications within minutes of confirming their purchase. They can access their applications from any PC. They are no longer challenged to find the latest updates for these applications. And they no longer need to wonder if their device drivers are compatible with the latest software.
The Steam Interface
Once you've installed Steam, all of the following features are available on your desktop and while you're playing Steam games.
Instantly access your favourite games
The full Steam library and all future Steam releases are at your fingertips. Choose from over 1500 games from various developers. After you've purchased a game, download it immediately and start playing.
Join the Steam Community
Now it's easy to find someone to play with, meet up with friends, connect with groups with similar interests, and host and join chats, matches, and tournaments. Best of all, it's all free.
Chat with your friends while gaming
With Steam's "Friends" service, you can talk to your friends while you play. You can also see when they're playing games and easily join the same servers together.
Easily browse multiplayer game servers
Steam's integrated server browser makes it easy to navigate thousands of Internet game servers.
Receive automatic game updates
Hunting for patches and downloading from unorganized web sites is so twentieth-century. On Steam, your games stay up-to-date by themselves. No hassles.
Play your games on any PC or Mac
Once you have a Steam account, you can sign in from any PC to access your games. Your games are associated with your account, not your computer. Steam is also compatible with the Mac with a growing number of compatible games.
Enjoy Steam-only special offers
From pre-release discounts to free-play weekends, Steam delivers what gamers value most.
Steam on the go
Steam is now available for both Android and iOS devices. Click here for more details.
The History
Pre-2002 gamers played their internet multiplayer games on the WON (World Opponent Network) system. The system mostly worked well but Valve had a growing problem with game updates. When an update was released users would have to go to a website to download a patch file. They would have to run the update to update their game to the latest version before they could play again. This left large portions of the community with incorrect versions of the game unable to play. Valve decided to fix this problem by introducing Steam in 2002.Steam would update the games automatically, and implement better anti-piracy and anti-cheat measures. They managed their whole game catalogue on Steam and with its success attracted other publishers and developers to release their products on Steam.