Steam, the online game delivery platform from Valve, now offers in-game DLC for PC gamers. The download service, which has long sparred with Games for Windows LIVE, has now taken another nod from its Microsoft rival in dishing up downloadable content.
The first game to get Steam in-game DLC treatment is The Maw, a cutesy 3D platformer which will get a couple of extra levels to add to its storyline.
The addition of in-game DLC to the Steam platform means that publishers and game developers will be able to actively use their own games to sell extra content. Xbox 360 users won’t find this particularly novel – Xbox LIVE has been pushing significant amounts of DLC for a very long time – however, it should make a big difference to PC gamers, who, barring a few recent exceptions, have to shop for expansion packs and extra content separately.
The move could spark an increased amount and variety of DLC for PC games, but also more publishers signing up to distribute their ware’s using Valve’s system. For players, it’ll merely be a matter of hitting the Shift + Tab shortcut during play, and browsing for new content to purchase.
Cleverly, Valve says it won’t actually matter where you bought the game in the first place – whether was on disc, from a rival digital outlet or from Steam itself.
To herald the latest evolution in Steam technology, The Maw is going to be the first to try out the new in-game DLC system. Developer Twisted Pixel is pushing its two expansions – The Maw: Brute Force and The Maw: River Redirect – on the platform. Each one fits in with The Maw’s storyline as ‘deleted scenes’. Or in other words, bits that didn’t make the final cut.
