Gabe Newell was speaking at Casual Connect in Seattle last night, and he expressed his concerns about the future of PC gaming after Microsoft's Windows 8 launches later this year.
Newell fears that tightening development restrictions could see PC developers walking away from the platform: "We are looking at the platform and saying, '[Valve and Steam have] been a free rider, and we've been able to benefit from everything that went into PCs and the Internet, and we have to continue to figure out how there will be open platforms.'"
One alternative to Windows is Linux, an open source operating system for PCs. Indeed, Valve are already working on bringing Steam to that OS. "The big problem that is holding back Linux is games. People don't realize how critical games are in driving consumer purchasing behavior," commented Newell (as reported by IGN).
He continued by saying: "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. I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PCs, and OEMs who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."