Valve Dates Steam Mac For May 12, Updates Steam PC

Valve has announced it will release its anticipated Mac version of the digital distribution platform Steam on May 12, after earlier this week releasing a significantly modified version of the main PC client. When Valve first confirmed the Mac version of its successful service, it said the release would mark a shift in Valve policy toward simultaneous multiplatform development, meaning the company will release native Mac versions of its back catalogue, as well as day-one Mac versions of its new games starting with Portal 2 later this year. The company will be rolling out a new feature, Steam Play, that will allow owners of supported Steam games to access those games on either platform. While Valve said it had already begun licensing Mac versions of its Source engine and its Steamworks social suite, the studio has not yet named any partner companies or said whether any of them will outfit their games with Steam Play. Earlier this week, Valve also officially released a significant client revision to the PC version of Steam, after months of beta testing, bug fixes, and feature updates. That new version will serve as the basis for Mac Steam.