Did you know that before developing Steam, Valve approached other companies for help? All said no.

Choose wisely! The correct answer, the explanation, and an intriguing story await. Correct Answer: Sony What was Comdex before it was shut down in the early 2000s? In the early 2000s, Valve was facing significant challenges in supporting its growing portfolio of online games – particularly Counter-Strike, which had become a massive hit. Keeping players up to date with patches was cumbersome, often requiring them to manually download updates from various servers. This fragmented process led to compatibility issues, frustrated players, and a high barrier for maintaining game integrity. To solve this, Valve envisioned a centralized platform that could automate game updates, enforce anti-cheat mechanisms, and help fight piracy. The idea was radical at the time: a persistent, always-online distribution and maintenance platform for PC games. Surprisingly, the goal wasn't initially to sell games – Steam's commercial side came later. At the start, Valve just needed a better way to deliver ... Read full article.