Valve joins Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of the free, open source operating system, announced on Wednesday that Valve has joined the organization.

According the language on the Foundation's official website, membership status allows Valve to participate in member-only events of the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit, the right to vote and run for Linux Foundation board seats, access to the foundation's media network, and other, frankly boring benefits.

What's interesting is what this means for Valve's future plans. At last year's Casual Connect conference in Seattle, Valve's Gabe Newell said that the big problem holding back Linux is that it doesn't support enough games.

"People don't realize how critical games are in driving consumer purchasing behavior," Newell said. "We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It's a hedging strategy."

At the time, Newell also said that Microsoft's Windows 8 is such a huge catastrophe , he fears it will prompt some top-tier manufacturers to abandoned the PC market entirely. "If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."

Vavle's membership in the Linux Foundation and a potential seat on its board in the future is perfectly in-line with the above statements. It will, hopefully, increase confidence in Linux is a gaming-friendly operating system, and it might even allow Valve to encourage other developers and vendors to step up the biggest technical challenge Linux faces: better driver support.

The news also emphasizes Valve's increasing commitment to the free operating system. The living-room centric Steam Controller that made headlines in September will be used with the SteamOS , the Linux-based operating system for Valve's Steam Machines.

While other Linux Foundation members include the likes of Sony, Nvidia, and even World of Tanks developer Wargaming.net, Valve is by far the biggest gaming-oriented company to join.

In 2011 Valve hired Mike Sartain to work in its "Linux team." As its amusing employee handbook points out , Valve's company structure isn't as hierarchical as that of some other developers, so it's hard to nail down a title and role for every employee. But we do know that Sartain's interests and Valve's interests in him relate to Linux. Before coming to Valve Sartain worked on the original Halo project at Microsoft and RAD Game Tools.

"Joining the Linux Foundation is one of many ways Valve is investing the advancement of Linux gaming," Sartain said of the announcement. "Through these efforts, we hope to contribute tools for developers building experiences on Linux, compel hardware manufacturers to prioritize support for Linux, and ultimately deliver an elegant and open platform for Linux users."

Latest in Controllers
A phone being held next to a Nacon Revosim RS Pure racing wheel with an app on display showing adjustable settings.
Nacon's promising Revosim RS Pure direct drive racing wheel lets you use your phone as a dashboard and settings tool, but it feels like it could do with a little work
Scuf Valor Pro wired controller
Scuf Valor Pro review
A GameSir Cyclone 2 controller in the phantom white colourway wrests in the cardboard insert inside of its box. This is the Charging Station edition, and the aforementioned cradle can also be seen in the box. The cradle's golden pins that attach to the underside of the gamepad for charging are just about visible.
GameSir Cyclone 2 review
A Classic Clear CRKD NEO S rectangular controller sits on a desk between one black keyboard and one grey keyboard. The controller takes up much of the frame, but is clearly much smaller than both of the keyboards. The controller body is made of cloudy, clear plastic, allowing the viewer to see the internals.
CRKD Neo S review
The Logitech G RS Wheel Hub and RS Track Wheel on a desk and installed on a sim racing wheel base.
Logitech G RS Wheel Hub and RS Track Wheel review
8BitDo Ultimate 2C controller on a desk
8BitDo Ultimate 2C wireless controller review
Latest in News
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Recently appointed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Here comes Intel's new CEO: a semiconductor veteran that won the same prestigious award as Jensen Huang and Lisa Su
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'