Valve to sell non-gaming software on Steam starting September 5th

Steam adds non-gaming software starting September 5th.

Valve is opening up Steam to non-gaming software, the company announced today, bringing applications ranging from "creativity to productivity" to the digital distribution platform. The first software titles will be released on September 5th.

Non-gaming software sold via Steam will take advantage of the platform's Steamworks features, which include simplified installation, auto-updating, and the ability to save work to the Steam Cloud for cross-platform access from multiple computers.

"The 40 million gamers frequenting Steam are interested in more than playing games," said Valve's Mark Richardson in a press release. "They have told us they would like to have more of their software on Steam, so this expansion is in response to those customer requests."

In July, the Steam mobile application leaked Valve's plans to add non-gaming software to its vast library, with application categories for accounting, animation and modeling, audio production, design and illustration, education, photo editing, software training and more.

Valve says that developers of non-gaming software titles will be able to submit applications via the company's recently announced Steam Greenlight initiative.