Valve ditches DRM

By The Inquirer
09:49 Mar 26, 2009 | 4 Comments
Tags: Valve | ditches | CRM

Steam, Valve's online distribution service, to offer alternative to 'draconian' DRM practices.

In a move DRM haters will celebrate, Valve has announced an update to its Steamworks publishing and development tools suite, featuring Custom Executable Generation (CEG) technology, a purportedly "customer friendly approach to anti-piracy".

CEG ensures a unique key is created every time a user installs a game, ultimately allowing its installation across a plethora of PCs without install limits or the need for root kits.

Another new feature to the suite is support for in-game downloadable content (DLC) so developers can actually deliver updates to their games, through Steam, from within the game itself, while it's being played. The new content can be free or not, whatever the developer decides.

Valve is also boasting that Steamworks matchmaking now also includes the lobby system from Left 4 Dead, which is great, unless you like to be able to pick your server from a list of available options.

Valve says the Steamworks suite will be available free for developers and publishers worldwide.

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4 Comments

thesorehead Mar 26, 2009 10:35 AM	How is this the same as "ditching DRM" again?
Fat_Bodybuilder Mar 26, 2009 10:46 AM	I read the first three words of the article and laughed.
Khirareq Mar 26, 2009 3:04 PM	"CEG ensures a unique key is created every time a user installs a game, ultimately allowing its installation across a plethora of PCs without install limits or the need for root kits." Sooooo, a new key is generated every single time I reinstall a game? O.o Or, the key is generated the first time I install a game? I assume the latter Then, wheres this key go? Do I look after? Can I see it? Will this mean that, I will be able to sell off my old games I purchased through Steam? Or even be able to give them away without having to buy a Gift?
rhinocerer Mar 28, 2009 5:55 PM	In-game downloadable content... Does that mean in-game advertising? Having different clients of a multiplayer game downloading new content in-game sounds sync-erific. They wouln't do that, would they?

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