Steam

Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, online multiplayer, and communication platform developed by Valve Corporation. They are used to distribute games and related media over the Internet, from independent developers to major game companies. In October 2012, Valve expanded the service to non-game software. Steam provides users with the ability to install and automatically manage software across multiple computers, as well as social features such as friend lists and groups, cloud storage, and voice and text chat functionality in games. An API called Steamworks is provided that developers can leverage to integrate many of Steam's functionalities into their software products, including copy protection, networking, achievements in games, and support for user-generated content. . Although Steam was initially developed for use on Microsoft Windows, it has been expanded to include Mac OS X and Linux versions with limited functionality on PlayStation 3 and for both Android and iOS (Apple). In addition to being a central hub for gaming software, Valve has made a version of Steam with modified functionality for use in schools for educational software, including a modified version of the game Portal 2 for teaching science and critical thinking.