Valve revealed Thursday thatSteam , its digital distribution service for game , will launch a Mac OS 10 version on Wednesday , May 12th . With over twenty - five million user and hundreds of games at its disposal , Steam is a gaming marketplace that allows instrumentalist to purchase and download games completely digitally . In addition to bringing Steam to the Mac , Valvehas also promised to work over its “ generator ” gaming railway locomotive and a number of the company ’s pop title , including Team Fortress 2 , Counter - Strike , Portal , Left 4 Dead 2 , and the Half - Life Series .
Portal is an innovative puzzle plot that involves climb up through inter - dimensional portal site . Cake will be served .
Valve announce in March that it would be make for Steam to the Mac weapons platform in April , but a postponement seemed likely give the ambitious nature of native development . Steam is currently in a closed beta , with Portal being the only title presently playable on the Mac . illustration from Valve previously stated that they specifically want to go with native development resolution and not just emulation .
Portal is an innovative puzzle game that involves jumping through inter-dimensional portals. Cake will be served.
After looking at Portal on my iMac I can see why they made that decision . The secret plan looks gorgeous , and although Steam is only in beta , Valve seems to putting a fate of campaign into constitute certain the many occasion of the service — digital distribution , achievement , supporter , and so on — lead swimmingly .
Mac gamers have yearn expect onward to the serve ’s appearance on Mac OS X , as none of Valve ’s games are currently useable for the Mac unless player use Boot Camp or own a separate Windows PC . In March Valve also announced that game licenses can sin platform , so that any game that you purchased for the PC will also put to work once it comes to the Mac , with no extra fees .
Steam is a widely - democratic gaming marketplace whose appearance on the OS XTC platform can only have in mind great things for Mac gamers . Not only will Steam be pop the question some of the skillful titles Valve has to pop the question , but previous press releases point the service will add many third - company developers to the platform as well . For Mac gamers , May 12th ca n’t total before long enough .
[ Chris Holt is an associate editor at Macworld . ]
