Valve Porting STEAM & Left 4 Dead Over To Linux

**Nakatomi Uk** · 07-17-2012

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...ead-2-to-linux

GAME DEVELOPER Valve has revealed that it has been working on porting its Steam content delivery client and Left 4 Dead 2 title to Linux.

Valve has seen its Steam content delivery service go from strength to strength in recent years, however the service has until recently been a Windows-only shop. The firm ported Steam to Apple's Mac OS X back in 2010 and now it is preparing Steam and its Left 4 Dead 2 game to run on Linux.

According to Valve the efforts to port Steam and Left 4 Dead 2 to Linux are focused around Canonical's Ubuntu Linux distribution, though judging by what the company has written there shouldn't be much stopping those running Steam on other Debian-based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint or Debian itself. Valve also said that Ubuntu will not be the only Linux distribution it supports.

Valve said that its decision to use Ubuntu for development was due to two reasons. "First, we're just starting development and working with a single distribution is critical when you are experimenting, as we are. It reduces the variability of the testing space and makes early iteration easier and faster. Secondly, Ubuntu is a popular distribution and has recognition with the general gaming and developer communities."

Valve said that Steam's main features have been ported over and that it will work on bringing over the smaller features, but added that it is a "good experience at the moment". The firm said it has successfully ported Left 4 Dead 2, but is optimising the game to improve frame rates using the OpenGL renderer.

Although Valve has yet to release its Steam client and Left 4 Dead 2 on Linux, the firm said it is working on porting additional titles from its library. Should Valve manage to reproduce its blockbuster Windows games on Linux and present a Linux version of Steam then gaming on Linux can finally become a viable prospect.

The Inquirer (http://s.tt/1i77m)

Hopefully it will kick off

**keefy** · 07-17-2012

I thought Linux geeks were too cool to play games.

**BoyBettaKnow** · 07-17-2012

Step in the right direction. I really like Ubuntu and seeing the direction that MS is taking with Windows 8, Windows 7 could be with me for many more years. If Steam can sway more and more developers to use Linux and find an alternative to MS Direct X i can't see any reason to use Windows again!