From a distance, it is easy to see that Valve and Microsoft are increasingly becoming direct competitors. Xbox Game Pass/PC Game Pass share similarities with Steam, Valve's storefront platform for digital games. There has also been rumors Valve will launch a Game Pass-like service. Now, the company's CEO says that is not the case and PC Game Pass is welcome on Steam.
Gabe Newell says the company has no plans to develop a competitor to Xbox Game Pass. In fact, he says he would like to work with Microsoft to introduce the service on Steam:
“I don't think it's something that we think we need to do ourselves, building a subscription service at this time,” Newell says. “But for their customers it's clearly a popular option, and we'd be more than happy to work with them to get that on Steam.”
Xbox Game Pass and its PC equivalent is a subscription service where customers pay monthly for access to thousands of games. The catalog includes all Microsoft-owned properties and third-party titles.
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Considering Microsoft now owns Bethesda and soon Activision Blizzard, the number of exclusives on Game Pass could be important. Candy Crush, Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Forza, Halo, Gears of War, and Minecraft are all owned by Microsoft.
Game Pass also provides perks for top tiers, including the Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) service. This is a cloud streaming platform that allows users to play Xbox games on other devices.
Newell says he has spoken to Microsoft officials about folding PC Game Pass into Steam. “We've talked to people there quite a bit about that topic,” adds Newell. “If your customers want it, then you should figure out how to make it happen. That's where we're at.”
Despite Valve extending an olive branch, Microsoft has so far shown no desire to bring Game Pass to Steam. Although, Xbox Game Studios titles are available on the platform.
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