Valve games Steam to the Mac

Posted on 9 Mar 2010 at 10:27

Valve’s hugely popular portfolio of games, which includes the Half-Life and Counter-Strike series, have previously been restricted to Windows. But from April, native versions of Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Portal and the entire Half-Life series will be available to Mac users. Portal 2, due by the end of 2010, will be simultaneously released on both the PC and Mac.

“Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," said Josh Weier, Portal 2 project lead. “Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates," said John Cook, director of Steam development. "Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients."

All these games leverage Valve’s Steam platform, which centralises distribution and game updates, digital rights management, multiplayer gaming and communications. The platform is also licensed by other leading games publishers, giving it around 70% of the digital market.

One handy feature is the ability to save games online and pick them up on platform at any time. The Mac client will allow players who have already purchased a Windows game to re-download the Mac version for free at no cost and to continue to play the saved game on OS X.

Valve has also been working with Apple and graphics hardware manufacturers to help them provide better support for gaming.

Author: Simon Aughton

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

News : Games

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.