Steam For Linux Beta Available Now – Redmond Watches On
Valve has made clear its distaste for the Windows 8 app ecosystem, and the developer owner has moved forwards in its plans to bring its Steam client to Linux PC’s.
Valve have made it clear what they think of the new Windows 8 app ecosystem, they don’t like the fact that it comes loaded with its own Windows Marketplace, where users can find apps, games and other nifty software. So, is it just Valve throwing their toys out of the pram over a little competition? Or might they have a point? There was even talk of a Steambox at one point, Valve chief Gabe Newell put paid to the idea that Valve would get into hardware anytime soon.
“This is a huge milestone in the development of PC gaming,” according to Gabe Newell, Valve President and co-founder. “Steam users have been asking us to support gaming on Linux. We’re happy to bring rich forms of entertainment and our community of users to this open, customer-friendly platform.”
The Steam for Linux Beta client is currently available for installation on Ubuntu 12.04. “An overwhelming majority of beta applicants have reported they’re running the Ubuntu distro of Linux,” according to Frank Crockett, a member of the Steam for Linux team, “We intend to support additional popular distros in the future; we’ll prioritize development for these based on user feedback.”
Within its first week, Valve received over 60,000 responses to its request for participants in the Steam for Linux Beta. The first round of beta participants has been selected from this group of respondents.
At time of writing, some two-dozen games are available to download via the Linux Steam client, including the free to play Team Fortress 2, a good result of hardcore Linux users.
