[cageface]

Seems likely. I think Apple only got away with the shift to the Mac App store because the market for third-party Mac software is minuscule compared to that of Windows and includes a lot of smaller devs for whom relinquishing control of sales and distribution is as much a blessing as a liability.

On Windows big players like Valve are going to be less willing to play sharecropper.

[scott_w]

I believe that OS X doesn't prevent you installing your own "App Store", so you can get Steam on OS X.

[freehunter]

Windows 8 doesn't prevent you from installing Steam, either. I'm running it right now on the Release Preview.

Windows RT does, but that's like comparing OSX to the iPad.

[Dylan16807]

That's because Steam isn't a Windows 8 program. If you want to use Metro you have to go through the App Store.

[freehunter]

Steam is a Windows 8 program. It's not a WinRT program. Steam works perfectly in Windows 8.

The point I was making is that Steam doesn't work on Microsoft ARM tablets powered by Windows RT, but that shouldn't be a big surprise considering no desktop software works on ARM computers without being recompiled for that platform. It's no different than OSX vs iOS.

[Dylan16807]

You're ignoring WinRT on x86. This is where people are upset about Microsoft's sudden monopolizing. I don't consider it a true 'Windows 8' app if it's tucked away in the legacy desktop.

[freehunter]

You're technically correct, but you're really just splitting hairs. If it runs on Windows 8, it's a Windows 8 program. Windows 8 was designed to run both desktop and Metro applications. We're not talking XP Mode from Windows 7 here.