News 
February 24, 2009 - 11:28am PST
Left 4 Dead 360 Update Released
A free update for the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead is available now via Xbox Live. The update includes a host of fixes, tweaks and new features, including enhancements to Versus mode for improved competitive play. The full change list is:General
Fixed Survivors being able to climb surfaces marked for versus infected only Fixed a class of SurvivorBot bugs dealing with rescuing downed players Players can no longer grab ladders while flying through the air after a Tank punch Shooting near a car with an alarm that has already fired the alarm will no longer make chirping noises Fixed mini-gun physics exploit Fixed propane tanks (and other physics objects) causing players to fall through elevators Fixed rare achievement bug issues Fixed several map exploits
Versus Changes
Added HUD elements to show status of other infected players Fixed instance where a Survivor changing to the infected team would be attacked by infected bots Normalized special infected melee damage Fixed exploit where infected players could run away and teleport back to gain health Players can only change teams once per map Players can't change teams while other players are still loading Tank spawns at the same % through the map for both teams in versus mode Made the Tank and Witch spawn directly on the escape route Increased chance of getting the Tank or Witch Fixed team swap issue
Hunter
Easier to pounce a Survivor who is meleeing Increased Minimum damage a Hunter pounce does
Smoker
Fixed Smoker tongue tolerance
Smoker now has to be killed or the tongue destroyed for the tongue to break Survivors cannot bash someone off the tongue until the Survivor being pulled is paralyzed or hanging Tongue attacks that fail to paralyze or hang a Survivor will use the shorter ability delay timer Fixed cases where the ability timer was not using the correct time Fixed case where you could point at a Survivor but not register a tongue hit Fixed Smoker tongue not targeting and landing properly through PZ ghosts Smoker tongue does damage every second while dragging paralyzed Survivors
Tank
Bashable objects now appear with a red glow Tanks hitting a car with an alarm disables the alarm permanently Tank frustration timer is only reset by hitting Survivors with rocks or fists Reduced autoshotgun damage against Tanks
Witch
Witch spawns at the same % through the map for both teams Avoids spawning within a certain % of the tank Fixed an exploit where the Witch could be woken up and tricked into attacking Survivors
February 5, 2009 - 10:47am PST
Left 4 Dead Critic's Choice Edition, DLC and SDK Details Revealed
Valve's Zombie Thriller Expanding In 2009February 5, 2009 — Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced a series of content and development releases for its latest title, 2008's best-selling new game property for the PC and Xbox 360, Left 4 Dead (L4D).
The first L4D DLC — dubbed the L4D Survival Pack -- is due for release this spring and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode . A Critic's Choice Edition of the game will be heading to retail stores this spring, and will include access to all the content introduced in the L4D: Survival Pack.
In addition, for PC gamers and aspiring developers, the first Left 4 Dead release for the Source Software Development Kit (Source SDK) will allow the creation of custom Left 4 Dead campaigns that will be discoverable via L4D's matchmaking system. The SDK update is also due for release this spring, and is free of charge to all owners of L4D on the PC.
"Since Half-Life launched in 1998, Valve has made continuous efforts to expand the offering of its products beyond what's included on the day of launch," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "With Half-Life and Counter-Strike, and more recently Team Fortress 2, we've learned that we're no longer making stand-alone games but creating entertainment services. With Left 4 Dead we're extending that tradition by creating additional gameplay and releasing our internal tools to aspiring developers so they may also create and distribute new Left 4 Dead experiences."
Left 4 Dead is a survival action game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 25 industry awards from outlets around the world.
For more information, please visit www.l4d.com
May 1, 2008 - 10:34am PST
Steamworks Development Kit Available Now
Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the release of the Steamworks Software Development Kit (SDK).Steamworks is a complete suite of publishing and development tools that offers PC game developers and publishers access to the game features and services available through Steam. These include product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more. The features and services available in Steamworks are offered free of charge and may be used for both electronic and tangible versions of games.
The Official Steamworks SDK includes a fully functional API for all the components offered in Steamworks. Available now to developers and publishers worldwide, the SDK also includes a multiplayer game example to demonstrate many of the features in action. In addition, the Steamworks partner web site (http://partner.steamgames.com) has been updated with documentation outlining the ease of use of the API, authoring and editing of achievements, gameplay statistics, and more.
"In working with developers on the pre-release SDK, our focus has been on making it as easy as possible for them to integrate Steamworks into their games," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "They get access to these tools and services in a proven, scalable, and simple to work with package that has already been deployed to millions of gamers worldwide."
Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content. With over 15 million active accounts and more than 300 games, plus hundreds of movie files and game demos available, Steam has become a frequent destination for millions of gamers around the world.
April 29, 2008 - 5:59pm PST
Team Fortress 2: Gold Rush Update Available Now
The Team Fortress 2: Gold Rush Update is now available, free to owners of Team Fortress 2 via Steam. The Gold Rush Update introduces the new Gold Rush map and Payload gameplay style, the first set of unlockable weapons, and a new set of achievements for the Medic.In other TF2 news, a worldwide Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend will begin Friday at noon PDT, and will include access to the new content released today in the TF2: Gold Rush Update. Using the functionality made available through Steam and Steamworks, all of the files needed to join the Free Weekend are available for pre-loading now.
The Free Weekend is open to players around the world, and there is no obligation to purchase to participate; all that is needed is a Steam account to join.
To start pre-loading everything you need to play on Friday and learn more about Team Fortress 2, please visit www.steamgames.com/goldrush
March 13, 2008 - 1:02pm PST
PC Games From The Orange Box Flying Solo Into Retail April 9 and 11
March 13, 2008 - Valve, creators of Half-Life® 2 and Counter-Strike®, today announce the retail launch dates for the stand-alone, PC versions of Team Fortress® 2, PortalTM, and the Half-Life 2: Episode Pack are April 9th in North America and April 11th around the globe.Portal - the unique single player game that mixes puzzle, adventure and first-person action - is expected to retail for approximately $19.99. Portal has been named Game of the Year by over 30 publications worldwide and earned 40 more awards for special achievements in game design, writing, and music ("Still Alive" by GLaDOS and Jonathon Coulton).
Team Fortress 2 (TF2), the sequel to the game that put team-based, multiplayer gaming on the map, is expected to retail for approximately $29.99. TF2 has been named Multiplayer Game of the Year by Gamespy.com, PC Gamer magazine, and other leading media outlets. This retail version, like all PC versions of TF2, includes the recently released Badlands map and the ability to receive auto updates via Steam® including the upcoming release of Goldrush, a new gameplay mode and map that combines the escort style gameplay of Hunted with the timed attack and defend gameplay of Dustbowl.
The Half-Life 2 Episode Pack - which includes both of the award winning new episodes for the highest rated and best selling first-person action franchise of all time, plus Half-Life 2 Deathmatch for online play - is expected to retail for just $29.99. As was the case with The Orange Box, customers who already own one of these titles will have the ability to conveniently "gift" the game via Steam to a friend.
"Given the unique nature and length of the games inside The Orange Box, the compilation approach was the right vehicle for the debut of these titles at retail," said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. "With the flexibility of having different pricing and packaging options via Steam, we were able to test the market viability of the individual products. The results show an overwhelming demand for these stand-alone offerings as well as The Orange Box. This gives us tremendous confidence as we bring gamers more ways to get these titles at retail."
All three packages include support for Steamworks achievements, automatic updates and more, and do not require Half-Life 2 to play.
January 29, 2008 - 2:43pm PST
Valve Unveils Steamworks
Complete Suite of Publishing Tools Available Free of ChargeJanuary 29, 2008 – Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announce Steamworks, a complete suite of publishing and development tools – ranging from copy protection to social networking services to server browsing – is now available free of charge to developers and publishers worldwide.
Steamworks, the same suite of tools used in best-selling PC titles Half-Life 2 and The Orange Box, is available for all PC games distributed via retail and leading online platforms such as Steam. The services included in Steamworks may be used a la carte or in any combination.
Specifically, Steamworks offers:
• Real-time stats on sales, gameplay, and product activation: Know exactly how well your title is selling before the charts are released. Find out how much of your game is being played. Login into your Steamworks account pages and view up to the hour information regarding worldwide product activations and player data.
• State of the art encryption system: Stop paying to have your game pirated before it’s released. Steamworks takes anti-piracy to a new level with strong encryption that keeps your game locked until the moment it is released.
• Territory/version control: The key-based authentication provided in Steamworks also provides territory/version controls to help curb gray market importing and deliver territory-specific content to any given country or region.
• Auto updating: Ensures all customers are playing the latest and greatest version of your games.
• Voice chat: Available for use both in and out of game.
• Multiplayer matchmaking: Steamworks offers you all the multiplayer backend and matchmaking services that have been created to support Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2, the most played action games in the world.
• Social networking services: With support for achievements, leaderboards, and avatars, Steamworks allows you to give your gamers as many rewards as you would like, plus support for tracking the world’s best professional and amateur players of your game.
• Development tools: Steamworks allows you to administer private betas which can be updated multiple times each day. Also includes data collection tools for QA, play testing, and usability studies.
“Developers and publishers are spending more and more time and money cobbling together all the tools and backend systems needed to build and launch a successful title in today’s market,” said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. “Steamworks puts all those tools and systems together in one free package, liberating publishers and developers to concentrate on the game instead of the plumbing.”
“As more developers and publishers have embraced Steam as a leading digital distribution channel, we’ve heard a growing number of inquiries regarding the availability of the platform’s services and tools,” said Jason Holtman, director business development at Valve. “Offering Steamworks is part of our ongoing efforts to support the needs of game developers and our publishing partners.”
Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content. With over 13 million active accounts and more than 250 games, plus hundreds of movie files and game demos available, Steam has become a frequent destination for millions of gamers around the world.
Click here for more information regarding Steamworks. To find out about more about Steamworks contact jasonh@valvesoftware.com
January 10, 2008 - 8:30am PST
Valve Acquires Turtle Rock Studios
Leading Content and Technology Company Adds California StudioFresh off the success of The Orange Box, the 2007 game of the year award-winning collection of new games heralded as "the best value in gaming history," Valve Corporation announces the acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios, the Orange County-based development house behind one of 2008's most anticipated games, Left 4 Dead.
Valve was founded in 1996 and has grown to become one of the game industry's leading technology and content creators, with a portfolio of over 20 million games sold worldwide. The merger of the two companies extends Valve's development team and provides the company with a new studio in southern California.
Turtle Rock Studios' Left 4 Dead joins a growing list of Valve's game properties which includes the Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress and Day of Defeat series of games as well as Portal, introduced as part of The Orange Box.
"We have been seeing very strong growth with Steam and Source, our content distribution and development platforms, up over 150% over the last 12 months. Given our expectations for Left 4 Dead and our long-standing relationships with members of the Turtle Rock team, this was an easy decision. It also gives us a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve.
"Left 4 Dead fills a long-standing demand gamers have had for a co-op first-person action experience, and it will also help Valve's expansion into the console market," added Doug Lombardi, Valve's VP of marketing.
"Valve has had great success bringing in projects and teams such as Team Fortress and Portal. As I spent time working and talking with the creators of those products over the past several years, it became clear that this was the right next step for myself, my colleagues at Turtle Rock, our customers, and our products," said Michael Booth, founder and CEO of Turtle Rock Studios. "We are excited to be a part of such a visionary and forward-thinking company."
read more ...
January 9, 2008 - 11:52am PST
Valve and NVIDIA Offer Portal: First Slice Free to GeForce Users
The most recent Steam Hardware Survey shows more Steam gamers play on NVIDIA GeForce hardware than any other graphics platform. In an effort to further support this popular PC gaming configuration - Steam games plus NVIDIA hardware - Valve and NVIDIA have entered into an agreement to collaborate on development, distribution, events, and more.Effective immediately, all NVIDIA gamers may receive a free copy of PortalTM: First Slice, a special version of the award-winning new game from Valve, by visiting www.steamgames.com/nvidia1 and "Taking the Test." Steam will then auto-detect the presence of NVIDIA hardware and make Portal: First Slice available immediately, free of charge. To make it easy for all NVIDIA customers to redeem this offer, a link to the Steam offer will also be included in all NVIDIA drivers.
"More Steam gamers, including myself, play on NVIDIA hardware than any other GPU," said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. "That's a testament to the company's long history of innovation and quality. By working together with NVIDIA to expand our development, distribution, and marketing efforts, we're increasing our ability to serve the millions of NVIDIA customers logging onto Steam and help us prepare for our next generation of content."
Throughout the coming year, the companies will also be working together to support competitive gaming events for Counter-Strike® and Team Fortress® 2 and will continue to work together to define and support the breakthrough features of tomorrow's games and graphics hardware.
"Valve's endorsement of our technology and tools is yet another example of how the world's leading gaming companies are working with NVIDIA," said Roy Taylor, vice president of content relations at NVIDIA. "Portal is the hottest new, award-winning title from Valve, and we're delighted that Valve will offer First Slice exclusively to GeForce customers."
Portal: First Slice is now available to all NVIDIA customers. For more information about the offer or to take the test, please click here.
November 21, 2007 - 3:00pm PST
The Orange Box 360 Demo Available Thursday, November 22
HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE TWO FEATURED IN FIRST ORANGE BOX DEMOThe first public demo for The Orange Box - the unique new multiplatform, multi-game offering from Valve, creators of Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike - is targeted for release on Xbox 360 tomorrow, November 22.
This first demo for The Orange Box is dedicated to Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the latest installment in the award-winning Half-Life 2 series and one of five games included in The Orange Box.
Released on October 10th and met with incredible critical and commercial success, The Orange Box is one of the top rated games of all time among PC and 360 games.
Coming soon for the Playstation® 3, The Orange Box includes Half-Life® 2: Episode Two, the second installment in the Half-Life 2 episodic trilogy; Team Fortress® 2, the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map; and Portal, the game that blends puzzles, first person action, and adventure gaming to produce an experience like no other.
To bring gamers up to date with the Half-Life 2 universe, The Orange Box also includes Half-Life 2 and Half-Life® 2: Episode One.
The Orange Box has a suggested retail price of $49.95 on the PC and $59.95 on the Xbox® 360. In the coming weeks, The Orange Box will also be available for the Playstation® 3 console systems.
June 20, 2007 - 10:27am PST
Valve Announces Major Update for Steam
Free Update Offers New Community Features for Connecting GamersJune 20, 2007 -- This summer Valve will ship a major update to its online gaming platform Steam, introducing an advanced set of community features to more than 13 million gamers around the world.
Beginning in July, Steam users can set up their own personal Steam pages and profiles, create and join groups, schedule games with friends, review who they've played with, see how well everyone played, chat with groups, chat via voice, and more. These new community services and features can be used with all Steam games, which include new releases and classic titles from leading publishers and independent developers.
Free of charge, the new community features will be accessible via the Steam desktop client and via the web.
"Our community has given us great direction on the ways they want to see Steam evolve," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "Adding these new community features to make it easier to connect with other gamers is something we've wanted to see on Steam for a long time and this latest update is just the start. We've got a long list of items that we're working on to make it easier for gamers to connect and play games on Steam."
This upgrade marks the largest extension to the Steam platform since its first commercial release in March 2004. In its three year history, Steam has defined the next generation online gaming platform delivering hundreds of games to millions of users with services such as Guest Passes, Automatic Updates, Free Weekends, and allowing gamers to access their games from any PC.