The free 24-hour trial of Left 4 Dead (PC) is being extended through the night. The free trial includes access to the recently released Survival Pack DLC, which introduced a new multiplayer game mode and two additional Versus campaigns. Those who wish to give L4D and the Survival Pack a free try now have until Saturday at 5 pm GMT, with no obligation to purchase. Those who decide to purchase the full product and do so this weekend will save 40% off the regular price. For more information, please visit Steam Games

Beginning Friday at 12:01 am GMT, the PC version of Left 4 Dead will be available for a free 24-hour trial via Steam. The free trial will include access to the recently released Survival Pack DLC, which introduces a new multiplayer game mode and two additional Versus campaigns. Those who wish to give L4D and the Survival Pack a try may now pre-load everything needed to play with no obligation to purchase. For more information, please visit Steam Games.

The Left 4 Dead Survival Pack is now available for the PC and Xbox 360, free of charge to all owners of the game. The full change list for the PC release is below. In addition, both the retail and Steam versions of the game (PC and 360) are now available for a special price. Check Steam and local retailers for pricing details. For more information about L4D, please visit l4d.com.

Razer, the world's leading manufacturer of high-end gaming and lifestyle peripherals and Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises and leading technologies, today announced an unprecedented partnership to usher the first person shooter (FPS) genre to the next stage of radical gaming evolution.
The debut title - "HellRazer", will be a co-op squad based tactical FPS game that will be distributed through the Steam network. Legendary game developer Gabe Newell will lead software development, while Razer will dedicate its time to design and create an intuitive game controller in its new research laboratories in Singapore. The new peripheral is slated to be the first true 1:1 motion sensing and gesture recognition controller.

Valve today announced a new set of advanced features delivered in Steamworks, a complete suite of publishing and development tools that are available free of charge to developers and publishers worldwide.
Headlining the new feature set is the Custom Executable Generation (CEG) technology that compliments the already existing anti-piracy solution offered in Steamworks. A customer friendly approach to anti-piracy, CEG makes unique copies of games for each user allowing them to access the application on multiple machines without install limits and without having to install root kits on their PC.

The new features also include support for in-game downloadable content (DLC) and matchmaking. The in-game DLC support allows developers to deliver new content as they choose (paid or free) from inside the game itself, allowing users to make immediate purchases and experience the new content in the same game session. The Steamworks matchmaking now includes the robust lobby system shipped and tested in Left 4 Dead.

Valve, creators of best-selling entertainment products and advanced technologies, today announced the arrival of in-game downloadable content to Steam, their massively popular PC gaming platform. In-game DLC allows developers and publishers to use their own games as a platform for selling additional content to gamers.
The first game to take advantage of this new in-game DLC capability is The Maw, by Twisted Pixel Games. Their first DLC releases are levels entitled The Maw: Brute Force and The Maw: River Redirect. Each DLC level expands The Maw storyline by fitting in-between the original levels as "deleted scenes."

Valve today announced an agreement to distribute Braid, the innovative title named AIAS Causal Game of the Year, via Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games.
Created by Jonathan Blow, Braid is a multi-award winning title that blends platform and puzzle game play with time manipulation. The game features a rich story and plays out across seven unique worlds, each its own time-based game mechanic. The Steam version of Braid will also leverage Steamworks for integration of Achievements and Steam Community features.
"Braid is arguably the strongest example of what can be accomplished by an independent game designer," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "From GDC to DICE, the title has deservedly collected numerous accolades and, along with World of Goo, Audiosurf and many others, is redefining the way people think about 'Independent Games.'"
Available for $14.99 (12.99 EUR, 9.99 Pounds Sterling), Braid is due for launch via Steam on March 31, 2009. For more information, please visit steamgames.com

Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in North America (Square Enix), and Valve Corporation (Valve), a developer of leading-edge technologies and software, announced today an agreement to bring Square Enix titles to customers in North America and Europe via Steam, Valve's leading platform for digital content distribution and management.

Beginning April 9, THE LAST REMNANT will be available for purchase via Steam, which makes PC games available online to more than 15 million users worldwide. An action RPG from the makers of the FINAL FANTASY series, THE LAST REMNANT will be the first Square Enix game to utilize Steamworks and be distributed via Steam. Square Enix will continue to add to its roster of games on Steam, providing users with instant access - after purchase, they can download the game immediately and start playing. Pricing will be announced at a later date.

The official demo for Empire: Total War from The Creative Assembly and SEGA is now available on Steam. This free demo provides a short glimpse of the kind of epic engagements available in the full version of Empire: Total War, which will be released on Steam and at retail in early March. The demo offers players the opportunity to take on the American Army and the French Navy from The Creative Assembly's own "home" side, playing as the British Empire in the "Battle of Brandywine Creek" and the "Battle of Lagos."

Those who pre-purchase Empire: Total War on Steam receive The Creative Assembly's game "Rome Total War Gold Edition" for immediate download. For more information, please visit Steam Games. The Empire: Total War demo can be found here.

Valve, creators of award-winning games and leading technologies, today announced a set of new releases for Team Fortress 2, the title named Editor's Favorite Game of All Time by PC Gamer (UK). The releases are headline by the Scout Update and will be made available Tuesday, February 24. Between now and then, folks can learn more about what's coming by checking tf2.com/scoutupdate each day.

The sensational PC music gaming title, Audiosurf, keeps on rockin' the free world with a massive update now available, free of charge, via Steam.
The International Update introduces Unicode support, enhanced community features, support for play on netbooks, a new Visualizer mode, and more.
Audiosurf is a music-adapting puzzle racer where you use your own music to create your own experience. The shape, the speed, and the mood of each ride is determined by the song selected. Points are earned for clustering together blocks of the same color on the highway. The game also allows gamers to compete with others on the Internet for the highest score on any song they own.
The title was created by solo developer Dylan Fitterer, who came up with the design for Audiosurf after six months of running BestGameEver.com, where Fitterer released a new game every Friday. Fitterer's favorite design produced during this period was Tune Racer, which was iterated and evolved into Audiosurf.
Owners of Audiosurf will automatically receive the International Update by connecting to Steam, where Audiosurf is offered for just $9.99.
For more information, please visit steamgames.com

In preparation for the massive update coming for Unreal Tournament 3, those who own a retail copy may now register it with Steam, free of charge.
The latest installment in the legendary online action series from Epic will be updated automatically via Steam and introduce support for Steamworks Achievements (with over 50 Achievements), plus a host of new features and enhancements in AI, Server Browsing, Demo Recording, Mod Support, and more.
For more information or to register your copy of UT3 with Steam, please visit steamgames.com

The Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II multiplayer beta is now open to all gamers via Steam. To join the beta and/or pre-purchase the full title, please visit steamgames.com

In celebration of THQ and Relic Entertainment's highly anticipated Warhammer 40,000T: Dawn of War II multiplayer beta, Steam is now offering Warhammer 40,000T: Dawn of War - SoulstormT for 75% off the suggested price. Anyone with an electronic or retail copy of Dawn of War - Soulstorm and a valid CD key may register their game with Steam and join the early access to the Dawn of War II beta today.

Also beginning today, the full version of Dawn of War II may be pre-purchased via Steam. And on January 28, the beta is scheduled to open to gamers around the world (free of charge via Steam).

Valve Corporation and Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announce the availability of many SOE Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) titles on Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.

The SOE developed and/or published titles now available include the complete EverQuest (EQ) and EverQuest II (EQII) collections, as well as Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Pirates of the Burning Sea. To kick off this monumental event, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, EQ Secrets of Faydwer and EQII Rise of Kunark are being offered via Steam for a special introductory price during the first 10 days the games are available for purchase. New SOE game accounts for the game purchased will also receive 30 days of gameplay (this offer excludes existing game and Station Access accounts).

The Steam Holiday sale is on now. Through January 2, 2009, every game on Steam is available at 10% to 75% off the regular price. Select publisher catalogs such as Ubisoft, THQ, and 2K Games are 25% off. Award-winning titles such as Bioshock and Portal are available for 75% off the regular price. For more information, please visit this page.

Valve today announced Spore, Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, Mass Effect, Need for Speed Undercover and EA SPORTS FIFA Manager 2009 are available now to gamers in most of Europe, the United States and Canada via Steam, a leading platform for PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world. In the coming weeks, Mirror's Edge, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, and Dead Space, will be added to the catalog of EA's titles available via Steam. For more information, please visit Steam Games.

Valve today announced Spore, Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Mass Effect, Need for Speed Undercover and EA SPORTS FIFA Manager 2009 are available now to gamers in the United States and Canada via Steam, a leading platform for PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.
In the coming weeks, Mirror's Edge, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, and Dead Space, will be added to the catalog of EA's titles available via Steam.
"EA is one of the industry's largest publishers," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "The EA titles coming to Steam this holiday include some this year's top PC titles."
"We are pleased to extend our holiday titles to gamers worldwide via Steam -- a revolutionary technology that is one of the game industry's most successful digital distribution services," said John Pleasants, President, Global Publishing & Chief Operating Officer.
For more information, please visit steamgames.com

At the time of preparing this report, US $1.42 makes a Euro. Here's what Valve seems to be pricing its games and those of its affiliates on the Steam platform as: $1 = €1, ignoring exchange rates, meaning that if a product costs say $20 on Steam, you will be charged €20 (approximately $27.86), if you are buying from the EU. Several game titles have been priced in this fashion. Call of Duty 4, priced at US $49.99 ($59.4 after applicable taxes) is tagged at €49,99 ($70 before applicable taxes).

In reaction to this, disgruntled European gamers have started protesting this move by Valve on online forums, an example of which can be found on Valve's own Steam Users' Forums. Also found on the same board is a user group named 1€ ≠ 1$. Certain groups have even started reporting this to the European Commission Consumer Cell. The gamers allege that they have been given a largely unfair pricing scheme with products on the Steam platform, that violates trade laws. The Steam platform serves gamers from around the world with a common platform to purchase games, and coordinates multiplayer gaming and updates. An unhappy consumer base from one of the largest markets in the world could certainly impact on its revenues.

I-Fluid is now available to gamers around the world via Steam, a leading platform for PC games with over 15 million accounts. I-Fluid allows you to explore the everyday world from a unique perspective, that of a drop of water. The title challenges "drops" to solve physics-based puzzles; avoid evaporation, absorption and thirsty insects as you move about a photo realistic environment. I-Fluid is available via Steam for just $9.99. For more information, visit Steam Games. The Steam page for the game can be found here.

Today, Half-Life turns 10 years old. What started off as a humble beginning for Valve software, using dated technologies licensed from id Software, now stands as one of the greatest PC games ever made. At 10, Half-Life enjoys a lavish Metacritic score of 96%, an aggregate of all known participant reviews.

To celebrate the occasion, Valve is giving away copies of Half-Life via Steam for 98¢ (US $ 0.98), to symbolize the year 1998. This offer ends 12:01 pm PST on November 21. Visit Steam Games for more details.Go Dr. Freeman!

The PC version of Left 4 Dead, Valve's zombie thriller, has been officially announced. The game is now available via Steam to gamers around the globe, to purchase, download and play. The hard-copy title will be available for the PC and Xbox 360 platforms at retail stores on Tuesday, November 18 in North America and worldwide on Friday, November 21. For more information, please visit Steam Games.

Valve, creator of the best-selling game franchises Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike, is letting everyone know that its upcoming zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead, has gone gold and is on schedule to become widely available next week. Additionally, the game can now be pre-loaded. Those who pre-order the game via Steam save 10% off the regular price and may now pre-load the game so when it become available at 12:01 am EST on November 18, 2008 they'll only need to download a little piece of the game code and start the game right away. The pre-order discount is also available for both the PC and 360 versions at participating retail outlets.
Left 4 Dead is the new survival action game from Valve for the PC and Xbox 360 that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Playable in single player, co-operative, and multiplayer modes, Left 4 Dead is one of the most anticipated releases of 2008 and winner of numerous pre-launch awards, including Best of E3 from multiple outlets. A demo version of the game was also made available today.

Early access to the Left 4 Dead demo begins Today, November 6 on both the PC and Xbox 360. The early demo access is scheduled to begin around 2 am PST on the Xbox 360 and 7 am PST on the PC. This promotion is being offered in addition to the 10% savings for those who pre-order and applies to all Steam PC pre-orders and all PC and Xbox 360 pre-orders from GameStop and EB Games in North America.

On November 11 the demo will be made available to all PC and Xbox 360 gamers worldwide, with no obligation to purchase. The demo concludes on November 18, when Left 4 Dead will be made available at retail outlets across North America and worldwide via Steam.
For more information, please visit Steam Games.

Valve, creators of best-selling entertainment products and advanced technologies, today announced the roll out of Steam Cloud, a set of services for Steam that stores application data online and allows user experiences to be consistent from any PC. Steam Cloud is a free extension to Steam, a leading a platform for PC games with over 15 million accounts worldwide.

Steam Cloud support will ship with Valve's Left 4 Dead demo later this week and the full game on November 18. In this first release, the information stored and accessible through the Steam Cloud includes keyboard, mouse, and gamepad configurations, as well as multiplayer settings such as spraypaint images.