Valve added some new app types in a recent Steam Beta update: film, TV series, video, plugin and music. #hype pic.twitter.com/P2OLtmB7Sk— Steam Database (@SteamDB) August 10, 2014
Steam’s latest beta update includes tags for film, TV series, video, and music, suggesting that broader multimedia types will be supported soon.
Steam has been practically synonymous with PC gaming since its inception, but recent months have shown signs that Valve intends to branch out. Beyond its current living room gaming plans, Valve unveiled a Steam Music beta alongside other digital multimedia products. Now a recent update to Steam Beta suggests that these services could become far more common with the addition of application IDs for Film, TV Series, Plugin, and Music.
While most of these content types are already included on Steam (albeit in a limited way), emphasizing them would be a wise move on Valve’s part. Multimedia features are pretty well established in living room consoles at this point, so having SteamOS equivalents will help Valve compete in the market. Being able to switch from Team Fortress 2 to Game of Thrones with a few button presses is an incredibly appealing prospect, and could instantly turn Steam Machines into the one-stop multimedia platform the Xbox One hoped to be.
Assuming this is a reality, the next question is how large would Steam’s multimedia library become. If it’s anything at all like Steam’s PC gaming collection, this would absolutely be worth keeping an eye on.
