The time has finally come and gamers are starting to get their hands on Valve’s new Steam Deck, an impressive portable console that lets you play many of Steam’s vast library of PC games on the go. But what if gamers could also access their Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass titles through Steam – and its Valve’s new device – as well? It might sound a bit improbable, but in an interview with PC Gamer, Valve president Gabe Newell reveals that he would be happy to bring Microsoft’s popular subscription service to Steam and the Steam Deck.
Valve might be avoiding “building a subscription service” itself, but Newell has shared that talks with Microsoft have already taken place and recognises that these sorts of subscription services are “clearly a popular option” for customers.
It doesn’t look like anything has come of the talks yet, but with the mindset of “if your players want it, then you should figure out how to make it happen”, it’s clear that Newell is prepared to continue these discussions. Nothing is off the table yet.
First-party Microsoft games haven’t always been available on Steam, but they have been making appearances on Valve’s digital storefront since mid-2019 – when Microsoft announced its intention to make its games available on multiple storefronts. Following this, EA Play, a subscription service integrated with Game Pass, was added to Steam in 2020. Then, adding to this, Bethesda – a Microsoft-owned company – has just announced that it is ditching its own PC game launcher in favour of adding its games to Steam instead.
Discussions on the possibility of Game Pass coming to Steam are clearly being had, but that doesn’t mean it would be an easy feat for either company. However, the fact that Newell has stated that Valve would be “more than happy to work with [Microsoft]” to get Game Pass on Steam is undoubtedly welcome news for players looking to make the most of their new console.
There are so many games on offer through Microsoft’s subscription service and this Xbox Game Pass list is growing every month. With Steam the go-to place for PC games, despite the strong offering from the Epic Games Store, could we see Valve increase its monopoly on the market with the addition of Game Pass? Only time will tell, but don’t count it out yet.
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