Windows 8 Is a Catastrophe Because of Its Closed Nature, Valve Boss Says

Valve boss Gabe Newell has shared his thoughts on Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system for the PC and has called it a “catastrophe” because it’s going to close the platform, instead of letting it be free, as up until now.

Valve owns Steam, one of the largest digital distribution platforms on the PC and Mac platforms (and soon on Linux, too), so you can bet that the idea of an App Store integrated into the upcoming Windows 8 operating system sounds a bit terrifying for the company.

That’s an understatement, at least according to Valve boss Gabe Newell, who told VentureBeat that Windows 8 is a catastrophe, as Microsoft just wants to close the platform and effectively drive away PC companies from it.

“In order for this innovation to happen, a bunch of things that haven’t been happening on closed platforms have to occur and continue to occur. Valve wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the PC,” Newell noted.

“I think there’s a strong temptation to close the platform. If people look at what they can accomplish when they can limit competitors’ access to their platform, they say, 'Wow, that’s really exciting.'”

“I think that Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space. I think that we’re going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. They’ll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, it’s going to be a good idea to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.”

Some of these alternatives include the upcoming adaptation of the Steam service for various Linux distributions, which is set to appear in the future and brings its first fully-compatible Linux game – Left 4 Dead 2.

Windows 8 will be released this October and it’s going to be interesting to see just how it affects digital distribution platforms like Steam once its App Store starts get filled with games.