Gabe Newell on Xbox Live restrictions, hope for Steam
Speaking to Eurogamer, Valve head Gabe Newell offered his thoughts on bringing Steam to Xbox Live. The company successfully integrated Steam features into the PlayStation 3 version of Portal 2 earlier this year, though the Xbox version shipped without any such functionality. According to Newell, the reason lies with the "restrictions" Microsoft places on Xbox Live.
Microsoft has to become "comfortable" enough to allow developers and publishers to implement such features, said Newell, adding that he hopes to see the companies' restrictions "relaxed." Newell made note of the (staggering) amount of free content that has been added to Team Fortress 2 over the years, stating that Microsoft's policies prevent such content on Xbox Live.
PS3 developers are "starting to benefit from Sony's more open approach," said Newell, who hopes this will prove the value of openness to Microsoft, and prove that "the barbarians won't tear down the walls of Xbox and turn it into some chaotic wasteland."
Head over to Eurogamer for more the full interview, in which Newell discusses Valve, talks about the future of Steam and reveals the release date for Half-Life 3. Just kidding about that last one.
