Info Links http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=news&id=1423&cc=CA http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/ Of note (that is, most important to Empires) Question Possible For Empires?
I don't think this applies to Source Mods. Sounds more like it's targeted to game development studios.
for what? they are practically giving away a part of the service they now offer for money.. They will have to compensate that loss of income somewhere and I wonder where that will be.
Caelo, more people on steam = larger audience getting their game ads = likelier they'll buy straight through steam = lower costs and greater direct profit = ???? = MOAR PROFITZ!
I know that.. But that still means they are trading in a part of their monthly service income to a possible increase of Valve games.
Also if they've paid off the investment they made in creating the software, why not try to move more into the service sector?
Exactly. Moving away from the ASP model is a great move on their part. Basically even thought they are waving the license fee, they will still probably charge developers for any 3rd level support (bug fixes and new functionality). This frees up their resources from directly supporting their customers (1st and 2nd level support) by giving them full control. This way they can concentrate on other projects and R&D. Not to mention free publicity for Steam and the ad revenue they will undoubtedly generate.
Development of content (not just software) should be made as easy and low/free cost as possible. Even if you are a commercial s/ware developer your initial business costs are the ones that are gonna screw you so keeping the essential tool costs down to a minimum is a good thing(tm). Open and free tools also allow people to freely evaluate the potential before committing. And finally more quality content for Valve to make a cut on Steam can be no bad thing(tm) for them either