Valve turns 20 years old today, happy birthday! A brief look at their Linux history

Valve was officially formed on August 24th 1996, so today Valve turns 20 years old. The company was founded by both Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington and who knew the kind of impact they would have on Linux gaming.

Steam wasn't officially released years later in 2003, so it did take them a long time to get where they are today. I bet they didn't imagine just how big a behemoth Steam would truly become at the time.

I had no idea Valve was this old! Here's a rather quick look at what they have done for us.

I'm going to be honest, I was sceptical about Steam coming to Linux despite the reports from Phoronix at the time. Due to how long it was hinted at, it didn't seem like it would ever actually happen.

In 2012 they opened the Linux blog about their adventures in porting to Linux, but it's still sad to see it never really gained many posts. It was nice to get some insight into what was going on.

Feb 14, 2013 is probably one of the most important dates to remember, as the Steam client was officially released for the Linux desktop. It was a turning point for us, after being ignored by people for so long a lot of eyes were finally looking at Linux.

In June 2014 I personally interviewed Feral Interactive, where the stated very clearly they decided to bring games to Linux thanks to SteamOS and Steam Machines:

QuoteThe catalyst has been the Steam OS and the Steam Machine. That convinced us that Linux could support AAA games.

I also personally interviewed Aspyr Media in July 2014, where they specifically stated they got into porting games to Linux due to SteamOS:

QuoteWe have over 17 years of experience in OpenGL development on the Mac, so when Valve decided to enter the market with SteamOS we knew we would be well positioned to service a small but growing community with our expertise and strong publishing partnerships.

We have a lot of bigger titles thanks to both Aspyr Media and Feral Interactive, so it's clear SteamOS had already had a big impact even before the official release.

In November 2015 Valve officially released their Steam Machines, Steam Link and the Steam Controller into the wild. It remains to be seen if Steam Machines ever truly take off, but I remain positive about their impact on Linux gaming.

It is fun seeing titles like Disgaea 2 PC specifically state "Steam Machines" as a new feature. Quite a few games state SteamOS or Steam Machines specifically, so it's good to see it is still having an impact even with the wider press claiming it's a failure.

It goes without saying that we really do owe a lot to Valve right now, there is no way we would be having such a major push in Linux gaming without them.

Since Valve pushed into Linux we have been given thousands of games, better graphics drivers and so much more it's hard to even remember.

Happy Birthday Valve! You may not be a perfect company, you certainly do have a lot of issues, but thanks for all the fun. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.