Steam hasn't been sitting around twiddling its thumbs, however. The game will reportedly use Valve's Source engine. And his company, Junction Point Studios, will tap Steam for an upcoming title, but little is known about it. His key role with such titles as Deus Ex, Thief, and System Shock should be all that's needed to convince you that Spector is one of the greats (although like anyone, he lacks a perfect record). Having first made waves working for Dungeons & Dragons creator TSR back in the 1980s, Spector earned a reputation for innovative and immersive gaming experiences while being the bossman at Ion Storm Austin. Now Valve has a new partner in the form of Warren Spector, a man known for designing excellent games. To date, Steam's big draw has been Half-Life 2, which in my view is a shoo-in for Game of the Year. Yet in the case of SiN, Steam was a natural choice because the game is going to be episodic in nature, and is not suited for retail.
This is the second big deal they've scored, coming several months after we learned that Ritual Entertainment chose Steam for the distribution of its upcoming sequel to SiN. Love it or hate it, it looks like Steam is here to stay, as today we learn that the company has landed an agreement to distribute a major gaming title from a third-party. While Valve's online game distribution service is quite the center of controversy, the business model itself is picking up steam ( ahem).
