Last year was huge for Valve, and that's quite the statement considering past titles like Half-Life and its Counter Strike re-bundles. This time however it wasn't a single game at the center of the stage, but Steam, its digital distribution network that boosted sales for The Orange Box, among an increasing number of titles from third party developers like Take-Two Interactive, PopCap Games, Capcom, id Software, and Rockstar Games.

According to a recent interview with Doug Lombari, vice president of marketing at Valve, Steam saw record sales for the holiday season last year, which increased 158 percent from the same period in 2006. Now they are looking into further deals that are not limited to the hardcore PC gaming audience, but casual gaming, music and even movies. Lombari was clear in saying that they are just looking into the possibility for now, but pilot projects could be launched later this year, opening a very interesting opportunity for the company.