Valve unveils Steamworks toolset for aspiring PC game developers
Valve has unveiled their Steamworks toolset which will be available free of charge for any aspiring PC game developers. The toolset comprises a “complete suite of publishing tools” and will contain these features:
* Complete real-time stats covering everything from gameplay to sales
* Encryption tied to product activation
* Territory control “to help curb gray market”
* Auto updating to keep your games up-to-date
* Voice chat for online play
* Matchmaking support
* “Social networking services” like achievements, avatars, etc.
* And development tools for QA, play testing, etc.
And in addition to the toolkit allowing you to publish your games on Steam (naturally) you will even be able to use them to release your game through competing digital distribution and retail channels.
The whole point of this is to expand the number of games on the service and people using it to play them, as well as to push the service even further as the de-facto PC gaming service. “By not charging for this, it’s just another way to get more people onto Steam and to enjoy all the games. Our motivations here are pretty clear,” says Jason Holtman, Valve’s award-winning business director.
Sounds pretty good to me! — Valve
