More good news for Linux gamers today!  Phoronix is reporting that Valve will in fact be releasing the Steam platform for the Linux operating system sometime this summer! 

Similar to Valve’s strategy with Mac OS X, it’s expected that they too will be providing Linux game releases on the same day as Windows / Mac OS X for their new titles and that there will be first-rate support across all platforms. Portal II should mark the first of these efforts.

We are so grateful that Valve has finally publicly confirmed via the Telegraph (and another pending announcement is likely) that they are bringing Steam and the Source Engine to Linux as this should provide a huge opportunity for the Linux distributions and other Linux stakeholders to prove their viability against Windows and can begin attracting gamers if successfully leveraged. We have already shown that in terms of OpenGL performance, Ubuntu 10.04 is on par with Windows 7 for ATI/AMD and NVIDIA graphics and that Linux is a faster gaming platform to Mac OS X.

Valve to bring Steam to Linux by the end of the summer - Graphics Cards 2

If nothing else, traditional PC gamers that are typically only using Direct X should be glad that new life is being breathed into non-console gaming, whatever direction it is coming from.  Here is hoping that by stretching out into Mac and Linux platforms that Valve isn’t diluting their work force and is instead gearing up for a great 2010 and 2011 release schedule!
Valve Corporation has today rolled out their Steam Mac OS X client to the general public and confirmed something we have been reporting for two years: the Steam content delivery platform and Source Engine are coming to Linux. This news is coming days after we discovered proof in Steam’s Mac OS X Client of Linux support and subsequently found more Linux references and even the unreleased Steam Linux client. The day has finally come and Linux gamers around the world have a reason to rejoice, as this is the biggest news for the Linux gaming community that sees very few tier-one titles.