As promised, Valve has officially expanded Steam beyond games, adding non-gaming software to the digital distribution platform. The initial offering is a little sparse with just seven apps available and it mostly comprises multimedia and game related tools. Specifically, 3D-Coat, ArtRage Studio Pro, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark 11, CameraBag 2, Source Filmmaker and free and paid versions of GameMaker: Studio.
Prices range from $15 for CameraBag 2 to upwards of $180 for GameMaker: Studio, although Steam is discounting every software title by 10% through the week to celebrate the launch. New titles will be added in a regular fashion following the initial batch, though it's unclear if the catalog will remain limited to Windows-only titles or if Mac OS X (and eventually Linux) software is on the cards as well.
Developers will be able to submit new software titles through Steam Greenlight.
Valve says applications downloaded from Steam can take advantage of popular Steamworks features such as easy installation, automatic updating and the ability to save your work in Steam Cloud, where it can be accessed from any computer using your login credentials.
The company first unveiled plans for a non-gaming section of Steam back in August and originally aimed to launch it on September 5. The company is also working on a Linux version of Steam, which will enter a limited beta this month, as well as a Big Picture mode intended to bring Steam to your living room TV.