Valve says it’s willing to help Microsoft bring PC Game Pass to Steam

Steam owner Valve has said it’s willing to help Microsoft bring PC Game Pass to its platform.

Currently, Game Pass subscribers on PC need to use a Microsoft app in order to access their game library, but Valve CEO Gabe Newell has now indicated to PC Gamer that there’s nothing blocking the subscription service coming to Steam.

Newell also suggested that Valve would not be interested in launching its own Game Pass-style subscription service.

“I don’t think it’s something that we think we need to do ourselves, building a subscription service at this time,” Newell said. “But for their customers it’s clearly a popular option, and we’d be more than happy to work with them to get that on Steam.”

Microsoft’s gaming CEO Phil Spencer has previously commented positively on Valve’s Steam Deck handheld – which became available to order on Friday – and Newell indicated that he’d had conversations with the Xbox firm.

“We’ve talked to people there quite a bit about that topic,” Newell said. “If your customers want it, then you should figure out how to make it happen. That’s where we’re at.”

As noted by PC Gamer, there is some precedent for subscription services on Steam as Electronic Arts‘ EA Play service was added to Steam in 2020.

Steam Deck runs the latest version of Valve’s SteamOS software – which is based on Linux – allowing players to easily access their Steam games library and all of the platform’s features.

However, Steam Deck is also an open PC with the ability to install any software or connect with any hardware. That means players could, in theory, access other company’s game stores such as The Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass.

Last summer Xbox boss Spencer seemingly ruled out the possibility of launching Xbox Game Pass on other console platforms in the near future.

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In a GamesRadar interview, Spencer was specifically asked whether Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Game Pass to Nintendo Switch.

“We have no plans to bring it to any other kind of closed platforms right now, mainly because those closed platforms don’t want something like Game Pass,” he responded.

“There’s a ton of open platforms out there for us to grow in: the web, PC, and mobile. So all of our focus, frankly, is on those platforms.”