Steam for Mac Gets Released Today

Today, Valve Software is set to release the Mac version of Steam, a pioneering game platform that distributes and manages over 1,100 titles directly to a community of more than 25 million players around the world. In addition to creating several award-winning game titles, Valve is also a developer of technologies, including the Source game engine.

Valve has confirmed that the first collection of Mac titles will demonstrate "Steam Play." The service allows customers to purchase a game once and play it on all Steam-supported platforms, which, soon enough, will also include the Mac. Those who’ve previously purchased games via Steam will find those games’ Mac versions available in their account as they are released.

Portal will be the first of Valve's Source engine-based games available on the Mac, the company says. It will support Steam Play, as will Runic Games' Torchlight, another title Valve is proud to introduce to the Mac fanbase. And it’s not just Valve that’s proud, but also Max Schaefer, co-founder of Runic Games, who states, "We're very excited to be bringing Torchlight to the Mac. Having Steam for the Mac solves so many problems for us as a developer. We look forward to our future games coming out on the Mac as well." Valve will also make Steamworks available on the Mac. Steamworks is a suite of publishing and development tools created by Valve.

InsideMacGames has a few statements from Valve’s high-ups (seemingly from an older report), including one from Gabe Newell, the company’s head. "As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients," Newell, president of Valve, explains. "The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services."

In addition to Portal, Torchlight and Toki Tori, other Valve titles planned for a Steam release include Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal 2, and the Half-Life series. According to the aforementioned Mac gaming site, Valve is set to roll out new offerings every Wednesday for the Mac gaming community.