Valve Inks Game-Changing Deal With Lionsgate Entertainment Adding Over 100 Movie Titles To Steam Platform
Valve took a major step in growing its Steam digital distribution platform today by adding movie rentals to the mix. The addition of movies to Steam's catalog is a first, and it was made possible through a deal with Lionsgate Entertainment that immediately fleshes out the service with more than 100 flicks.
This is a big deal for Valve and its Steam platform, one that hints at the company's plans of expanding Steam into an entertainment juggernaut. Steam is already the biggest digital distribution platform on the planet for games, and while it has a long way to go before it can claim the same for movies, there's little doubt Valve wants to take it there. In a press release announcing the deal, Valve said Lionsgate was "one of the first major studios to licenses films" for streaming on Steam, which hints that it's attempting to lure other studios as well.
To that end, Valve can dangle Steam's considerably large user base in front of potential studio partners. That's part of what drew Lionsgate to to the fold.
"We're delighted to partner with Steam, a leader in the digital entertainment and gaming space, as part of our commitment to remain at the cutting edge of innovation in delivering content to online audiences around the world," said Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer. "With over 125 million users, Steam represents a unique, exciting and disruptive opportunity to expand our global distribution business."
Steam users aren't able to buy or download videos for offline viewing, though they can rent popular titles and stream them to Steam-supported platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Steam OS, and in VR through SteamVR.
Rentals range in price from $4 to $5 and are available in resolutions up to Full HD 1080p. It's a relatively small catalog compared to services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, but among the library of titles are some blockbuster movies such as the Hunger Games series, Divergent, and the Twilight series.
You can check out the entire catalog here.
This is a big deal for Valve and its Steam platform, one that hints at the company's plans of expanding Steam into an entertainment juggernaut. Steam is already the biggest digital distribution platform on the planet for games, and while it has a long way to go before it can claim the same for movies, there's little doubt Valve wants to take it there. In a press release announcing the deal, Valve said Lionsgate was "one of the first major studios to licenses films" for streaming on Steam, which hints that it's attempting to lure other studios as well.
To that end, Valve can dangle Steam's considerably large user base in front of potential studio partners. That's part of what drew Lionsgate to to the fold.
"We're delighted to partner with Steam, a leader in the digital entertainment and gaming space, as part of our commitment to remain at the cutting edge of innovation in delivering content to online audiences around the world," said Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer. "With over 125 million users, Steam represents a unique, exciting and disruptive opportunity to expand our global distribution business."
Steam users aren't able to buy or download videos for offline viewing, though they can rent popular titles and stream them to Steam-supported platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Steam OS, and in VR through SteamVR.
Rentals range in price from $4 to $5 and are available in resolutions up to Full HD 1080p. It's a relatively small catalog compared to services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, but among the library of titles are some blockbuster movies such as the Hunger Games series, Divergent, and the Twilight series.
You can check out the entire catalog here.
