Valve Confirms No Steam Machine Exclusives Amid Ongoing Half-Life 3 Speculation
Valve has made it clear that it has no plans to develop games that are exclusive to the Steam Machine. According to Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais, the company views “having the whole PC catalog as our ‘launch exclusive.’” This raises an interesting point about how one might create a game that is exclusive to a Linux-based open system.
The question on many minds was whether Valve would leverage a tie-in game to boost interest in the newly launched Steam Machine. Would they use one of their major franchises to promote the Steam Machine, similar to how they developed Half-Life: Alyx to support their second foray into VR with the Valve Index?
“Restricting where people can play a game isn’t a great model, at least for us,” Griffais stated. “We’re much more interested in having the whole PC catalog as our ‘launch exclusive.’”
It’s important to note that Valve has never produced anything as an exclusive title, given the company’s long-standing commitment to open systems and third-party access. Their advocacy for Linux as a primary operating system has been a significant part of their identity, and even Half-Life: Alyx was compatible with nearly all competing VR headsets.
Moreover, it’s difficult to envision how a game could be exclusive to the Steam Machine. Unless it were pre-installed on the device, it wouldn’t be feasible due to the Steam Machine’s design. The essence of this Linux-based system is that users have the freedom to customize it, including the option to install Windows if they choose. At its core, it simply runs games available on Steam, which can be installed on any PC. If you’re selling a PC game, it’s essential to offer it on Steam to reach the vast majority of the market. Valve launching a game “exclusively” on Steam is just part of their standard practice. If they were ever to release Half-Life 3, it’s highly unlikely it would be available on platforms like GOG or the Epic Games Store. In that sense, Griffais is right to consider the entire catalog as exclusive!
