Last Updated on: 23rd December 2023, 01:55 pm
Web site: store.steampowered.com
Category: Game Platforms
Platform: Android, iOS, Linux, OS X, PlayStation, SteamOS, Windows
License: Proprietary
Interface: GUI
Wikipedia: Steam
First release: September 12, 2003
Steam – a digital distribution and digital rights management platform, multiplayer system and social network created by Valve Corporation.
In October 2012, Valve expanded its offer to include non-game software. Steam allows the user to install and automatically manage software on multiple computers, and provides social features such as friends and groups lists, cloud saving, voice chat, and in-game chat. Steam provides a public application programming interface (API) called Steamworks, which developers can use to integrate Steam platform features such as copy protection, networking and matchmaking, gaming achievements, micropayments, and support for user-generated content into their products in Steam Workshop.
The Steam application is available for the following platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, SteamOS, PlayStation 3 (partially), Android, iOS and Windows 10 Mobile.
Initially Steam was only used to distribute and manage games created by Valve (including Half-Life, Half-Life 2) and their modifications, such as Counter-Strike, but over the time it become a tool for distributing games also from other manufacturers.
