Steam preparing cloud gaming tech, update suggests

Steam already allows for in-home streaming through Steam Remote Play and the Steam Link application. Image: Courtesy of Valve Corporation via AFP Relaxnews

A code update for gaming network Steam suggests that its operator, Valve Corporation, is readying for a move into cloud gaming.

Changes to the signup process for Steam Network’s game developing partners now make explicit mention of Cloud Gaming, per independent site tracker SteamDB.

The website updates, archived to the SteamDB Github repository, ask developers to agree to the terms of a Steam Cloud Gaming addendum.

Valve is working on "Steam Cloud Gaming" according to partner site code update. Partners will need to sign an addendum to their terms.

Could this be a competitor to @GoogleStadia?https://t.co/7AQ9YxCol8

— SteamDB (@SteamDB) November 6, 2019

Valve Corporation, the “Dota 2”, “Half-Life”, “Portal” and “Counter-Strike: GO” developer that owns and operates the Steam Network, has not publicly announced plans to invest in cloud gaming.

Valve already allows users to stream games within their own home network, either between computers or between a computer and a mobile device; experimental out-of-home streaming was added in June 2019, where connection speeds allow.

Should it be preparing to support cloud gaming on a larger scale, Valve’s Steam service would join similar efforts from Google, whose Stadia service launches on Nov. 19, as well as Microsoft Xbox’s in-development Project xCloud and Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation Now.

Launched in 2003, the Steam store offers over 30,000 computer games, but has recently faced strong competition from Epic Games, which has capitalized on the success of its console, mobile and computer game hit “Fortnite” to create the Epic Games Store and tie up exclusivity deals with publishers and game developers. RGA/JB

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