We recently reported that Steam, Valve's leading digital content distribution network, would start hosting mods developed by the community. These are modifications made to games, which use the  engine of the title to create new gameplay modes with the same or different characters. Such was the case with Counter Strike, one of the most popular FPS (first person shooter) games out there, developed as a mod to the very popular Half Life. Now, as an even greater token of appreciation, Valve will be offering five free mods to the customers who already own a Source-based game.

The five mods are: Age of Chivalry, D.I.P.R.I.P., Insurgency, Synergy, and Zombie Panic. All great mods, which just goes to show that this is the reason Valve is so popular in the gaming community. As another special offer, the publisher is selling Half Life 2: Episode 1 for the extremely low price of 5 dollars.

“Valve has been supporting the MOD community since the company's inception, offering updates to the SDK, holding MOD Expos and being the first to bring a MOD to retail with Counter-Strike in November 2000," said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. "The debut of these MODs on Steam marks the beginning of a new level of support for the MOD community by putting the leading MODs at the finger tips of over 15 million targeted gamers.”

Such initiatives should really be embraced by other game developers and publishers. I'm sure that a lot of talented modders can express their creativity by modifying a game to suit their ideas, and who knows, might just get the attention of a big company. Such was the case with the guys behind Counter Strike who were employed by Valve to develop the retail version of the game.