Steam Big Picture Mode is a long teased thing of mystery. Announced over a year ago at GDC 2011, the mode should allow PC gamers to play, start and interact with their Steam games using a gamepad and TV friendly interface and. But it’s been kept under wraps by Valve since the announcement.
Speaking to PCGamesN at Develop, Valve’s Jason Holtman explained that a reveal is close. “It’s coming. Soon.”
Alongside revealing that Valve have no plans to change their approach to digital sales after a ruling from the EU Court of Justice,Jason also explained why Valve have put so much work into developing an interface for Steam that’s suitable for a PC. It’s purely because PC gamers are chafing at the bit to get their games running on the television. “We have all this great content, and it’s super good looking. You own Skyrim on Steam, and a huge television, and 5.1 Surround, why wouldn’t you want to see it there. Customers are constantly saying, I’ve got all this content from you, and I’ve got this other great display device and sound device – can you make this work?”
Jason also revealed that the Big Picture Mode is another of Valve’s experiments; they’ll see how the community use it to determine any next steps. “We’ll ship and see what happens. We’re agnostic as to how people plug that in and how they use it.” But, it’s important enough to ensure it meet’s Valve’s quality standards. “We’re trying to make it a really good initial experience, and then see what happens.”