Valve want cross-platform integration for CS:GO

Gabe Newell surprised a lot of people when he showed up at Sony’s E3 keynote last year and announced that Portal 2 would be available on PS3 with Steamworks. Valve are looking to continue that relationship with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive early next year.

Speaking to Develop at Gamescom where the game was previewed for the first time, Newell spoke of the benefits both parties have reaped from Valve’s partnership with Sony.

“With the release of the first Portal 2 DLC people will really see the value of Sony allowing Steam to be released on their system. We can patch and update regularly, and I think not only us but other developers are benefiting from Sony’s approach,” said Newell.

“I think Sony will start to benefit from what it’s doing. They’ve done the scary thing and I think it’s up to us as developers to make sure Sony and its customers are rewarded,” he continued.

When asked about Dust 514, the PS3 companion to CCP Games’ MMO Eve Online, Newell spoke of the need to encourage an open platform.

“We and other developers have to show we’re creating value to Sony for opening up its network. We have to show them it’s a smart business move.

“We need to reward Sony for making this decision. We need to prove Sony is right.”

Valve have a less affable relationship with Microsoft, notorious for its tight control over updates and downloadable content on the Xbox 360. PC favorite Team Fortress 2 and the Left 4 Dead franchise have received dozens of free updates on PC through Steam, but the 360 version of TF2 remains untouched and hatless since 2007, while users had to pay for the campaigns added to the Left 4 Dead series. The developer did however managed to negotiate free DLC for Portal 2 to both consoles, which will arrive in September.