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  1. Games
  2. Steam Deck

Valve is "more than happy" to bring PC Game Pass to Steam

News
By Vikki Blake published 26 February 2022

"I don't think it's something that we think we need to do ourselves"

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Steam Deck review
(Image credit: Valve)
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Gabe Newell, head of Valve, has confirmed that there are currently no plans for the company to introduce a game subscription service, like Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass or EA's EA Play.

Despite the release of its highly-anticipated and all-new handheld system, Steam Deck, Newell says that while he understands that subscription services are "clearly a popular option" with some gamers, he doesn't "think it's something [Valve] needs to do" despite their popularity.

He did, however, suggest that the company would be open to working with third-party partners such as Microsoft to "get [subscription services] on Steam".

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"I don't think it's something that we think we need to do ourselves, building a subscription service at this time," Newell told our friends over at PC Gamer.

"But for their customers, it's clearly a popular option, and we'd be more than happy to work with them to get that on Steam."

Still undecided on Steam Deck? In our Steam Deck review, we said: "Steam Deck is everything Valve promised, a handheld with all the potential of a PC and a huge library of games ready to go," giving it 4.5 stars out of 5.

"Owning it is a game-changer and reviewing it is a nightmare. That's good news for the real customers though because it's a testament to the energy and effort Valve is putting into getting all the bugs and glitches smoothed out before it ever reaches your hands."

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Interestingly, though, Rachel pointed out in her review that while this is a Steam machine, there's currently no easy way to set up other launchers, like the Epic Games Store on Steam Deck, as Epic only provides downloads for Windows PCs and Mac. We suspect Epic will be looking for solutions sooner rather than later, but for now, be aware that you can only launch titles from Epic Games if you use open-source launchers.

ICYMI, Valve is improving Steam Cloud Sync to make it easier to switch between its handheld and PC and those wanting to find out how much of their library will be available to play on the Steam Deck can now do so right here. 

Looking for something new to get stuck into? Here are the best PC games right now.

Vikki Blake
Vikki Blake
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Weekend Reporter, GamesRadar+

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter. 

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