valve

Hackers broke into a database with customer information at the Steam online gaming site, accessed user forum accounts and defaced a forum site, the company said.

"Our Steam forums were defaced on the evening of Sunday, November 6. We began investigating and found that the intrusion goes beyond the Steam forums," Gabe Newell, co-founder of Steam developer Valve Corp., said in a statement posted to the Steam site.

"We learned that intruders obtained access to a Steam database in addition to the forums," he added. "This database contained information including user names, hashed and salted … Read more

Well here's some interesting timing. Just days after I finished playing Portal for the very first time (more on that in a bit), Steam is offering the game absolutely free.

Specifically, from now until September 20, you can download Portal (PC and Mac) absolutely free. Yesterday, it would have cost you $10.

Update: Many readers have reported difficulty signing up for a Steam account. My only suggestion is to keep trying, as I'm sure Steam's servers are overloaded. I'll update further if I learn anything more.

Update #2: Steam tech support just tweeted this fix: "… Read more

Team Fortress 2 has gone free, and it's staying that way forever.

Valve, the game's developer, announced the news on its Web site yesterday. The company said that users can play as much of the game as they'd like for as long as they like at no charge.

Team Fortress 2 was first released in 2007. The game is an online action title, allowing users to form teams and take on other players. It is also one of the most critically acclaimed games ever released, earning a score of 92 out of 100 on CNET sister site … Read more

Update (June 15, 2011, 9:55 a.m. PT): Electronic Arts sent us this statement in regard to the removal of Crysis 2 from Steam: "It's unfortunate that Steam has removed Crysis II from their service. This was not an EA decision or the result of any action by EA. Steam has imposed a set of business terms for developers hoping to sell content on that service--many of which are not imposed by other online game services. Unfortunately, Crytek has an agreement with another download service which violates the new rules from Steam and resulted in its expulsion … Read more

As promised, Electronic Arts' Origin gaming service went live today. You can download the 34MB app at www.origin.com. We can report that its basic features work as intended, but it also introduces many questions about the future of digital game distribution.

On the surface Origin offers few surprises. It functions as a digital storefront from which you can download PC games directly to your computer, and is essentially a more fully developed version of EA's existing EA Download mini application. At the moment Origin carries EA published games exclusively, with regular and special-offer prices matching those of … Read more

Valve's megapopular virtual marketplace Steam has been known to offer deals on games on a fairly regular basis, but now the online storefront says it will run a deal every single day.

Steam--which boasts more than 30 million users and a boss on Forbes' watch list--has rolled out a "Daily Deal" promotion through which the online marketplace will slash the price of a game for 24 hours.

The deals will be clearly visible on Steam's front page, and the promotion debuts today with 75 percent off military shooter Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

Gamers looking to stay in the loop on the day's Daily Deal can follow Steam on Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on GameSpot.… Read more

Portal 2 is the follow-up to the 2007 cult-classic original that was bundled inside Valve's Orange Box collection. Since then, Portal has gone on to spawn a loyal following that has been clamoring for a sequel for years.

This week Portal 2 hits the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Steam as its own full-length game, extending the mythology of GlaDOS--the game's maniacal nemesis--Aperture Laboratories, and much more.

Jeff: We listed Portal 2 as one of our most anticipated games of 2011 for good reason. It is by far one of the most unique gaming experiences available, forcing the player to think well beyond the laws of physics. In the process of creating a brand-new gaming genre, Portal 2 also delivers some of the most clever and unique level design around, allowing for an overwhelmingly satisfying experience.

If that weren't enough, Portal 2 doubles the value by adding a fully fledged co-op campaign that is totally different than the single-player mode. The most complex puzzles are found here and the sense of accomplishment and mutual discovery while playing with a friend cannot be overstated.

We got to chat with one of Portal 2's writers, Erik Wolpaw--the 8-minute interview of which is embedded above--about the process of creating the highly anticipated sequel and how Stephen Merchant was brought on as the voice of Wheatley, one of the game's new characters.… Read more

Editors' note: Today's demo of Mortal Kombat features intense scenes of violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

Two blockbuster titles highlight this week's episode of preGame as we demo Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat--we're calling it Portal Kombat!

To celebrate the release of Portal 2, we're also giving away two Portal 2-themed hoodies courtesy of ThinkGeek.com. For your chance to win, follow the show's new Twitter account, @CNETpreGame, and follow the directions found in the video above! The winners will receive direct messages before next week's show.

For more on Portal 2, please stick around at the end of this week's episode for our full interview with one of the game's writers, Erik Wolpaw. Or if you want to jump right to that video, press the play button to the right.

As if these two massive games weren't enough, we've also sneaked in a look at Uncharted 3's multiplayer experience. Check out the newest trailer that gives a taste of what's to come in Drake's latest adventure, due out this November.… Read more

Ahead of this week's Game Developers Conference, Valve Software announced a forthcoming "big picture mode" for its Steam game download service.

Valve describes big picture mode only briefly, saying the feature "will offer controller support and navigation designed for television interaction." It plans to discuss the feature in detail with game developers and publishers at the conference.

This news comes amid an arguably increased blurring of the lines between PC and console games. Valve and Sony announced in January that the PlayStation 3 version of Valve's Portal 2 will support remote saved game storage through Valve's Steamworks API. Gamers will then be able to transfer their saved games between the PS3 and Mac or PC versions of Portal 2, a practice Valve is hoping to encourage by bundling a free download code for the PC version of the game with the PS3 version.

Additionally, cloud gaming service OnLive last November launched its MicroConsole, which lets gamers play streamed PC games from Square Enix, THQ, Ubisoft, 2K Games, and others from the OnLive service on their televisions, complete with a dedicated game-pad controller.

We'll update with more information about Valve's TV gaming plans as it becomes available, and stay tuned for more news from GDC throughout the week.… Read more