Valve have released plans to make "DRM Obsolete" - with a suite of new Steamworks features having been unveiled to the development community to coincide with the GDC 2009 event. The first and most important feature that will be introduced to Steamworks is that of "Custom Executable Generation", which "compliments" the already existing anti-piracy features of Steamworks.

The "Custom Executable Generation" creates a unique copy of each game for a user, allowing them to install and use the application on multiple machines - (without any install limit) and without the need for any "root kit" or third party software other than Steam itself.

Other new features that are now a part of Steamworks include support for free and "premium" downloadable content (DLC) with the ability for users to purchase content from within a game (and download, and access it) without needing to restart the game client. Along with matchmaking, other new features include the introduction of the lobby system that is found in Left 4 Dead into Steamworks.

Gabe Newell - President and co-founder of Valve had the following to say regarding the new features:

Delivering this extension of services on Steamworks first anniversary, demonstrates our commitment to continually develop the platform to better serve the community working with these tools. As we roll out these features, we continue to look for new ways make PC games easier to create and better for customers to experience.

The features of Steamworks are provided free-of-charge to developers and publishers around the world. The system is able to track in-game statistics, achievements, the Steam Community, automatic-updating of titles, and "Steam Cloud" - which can save a user's configuration files to the server.

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Thanks to Pig Fat for this news submission!
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