Valve announced that it would be offering its suite of publishing and development tools SteamWorks, the same tools which were used for Half-Life 2 and The Orange box, free of charge to developers and publishers.

“As more developers and publishers have embraced Steam as a leading digital distribution channel, we’ve heard a growing number of inquiries regarding the availability of the platform’s services and tools,” said Jason Holtman, director business development at Valve. “Offering Steamworks is part of our ongoing efforts to support the needs of game developers and our publishing partners.”

A few of the SteamWorks tools include, auto-updating, game stats collection and display, multiplayer matchmaking, voice chat, key-based authentication, territory control and zero-day piracy protection.

“Developers and publishers are spending more and more time and money cobbling together all the tools and backend systems needed to build and launch a successful title in today’s market,” said Valve president Gabe Newell. “Steamworks puts all those tools and systems together in one free package, liberating publishers and developers to concentrate on the game instead of the plumbing.”

Valve added a new IP to its arsenal of premier titles today by acquiring Turtle Rock Studios, the studio behind the highly anticipated multiplayer survival game Left 4 Dead.

Valve and Turtle Rock have worked together on the console version of the original Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for the PC.

“Given our expectations for Left 4 Dead and our long-standing relationships with members of the Turtle Rock team, this was an easy decision. It also gives us a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area,” said Gabe Newell, president of Valve.

“Left 4 Dead fills a long-standing demand gamers have had for a co-op first-person action experience, and it will also help Valve’s expansion into the console market,” added Doug Lombardi, Valve’s VP of marketing.

“We are excited to be a part of such a visionary and forward-thinking company,” said CEO Michael Booth, who founded the studio back in 2002.

As of today, Valve and NVIDIA have entered an agreement to collaborate on development, distribution, events and more according to Valve’s website.

In a recent survey conducted by Valve, of the nearly one million computers surveyed, over half were using NVIDIA hardware.

“More Steam gamers, including myself, play on NVIDIA hardware than any other GPU,” said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. “That’s a testament to the company’s long history of innovation and quality.”

The new agreement includes a free copy of Portal: First Slice, a special version of the award winning game by Valve, to all NVIDIA gamers. By visiting the link, which will also be included with all NVIDIA drivers, Steam will automatically detect NVIDIA hardware and make the game immediately accessible free of charge.

“Valve’s endorsement of our technology and tools is yet another example of how the world’s leading gaming companies are working with NVIDIA,” said Roy Taylor, vice president of content relations at NVIDIA. “Portal is the hottest new, award-winning title from Valve, and we’re delighted that Valve will offer First Slice exclusively to GeForce customers.”

Portal: First Slice is available now to all NVIDIA gamers at www.steamgames.com/nvidia1

Digital distribution is the future of gaming, embracing this future is Rockstar making a collection of its games available for download via Valve’s popular downloading system, Steam.

Titles available for download include the Grand Theft Auto series, the Max Payne series, Midnight Club 2 and Manhunt. Gamers will be able to buy each game individually starting at $10 each, or purchase the entire collection for $60.

All games are 10% off now through January 11th