Today's announcement may be indicative of a larger ongoing plan on Valve's part to expand the number of gaming-related services offered by Steam beyond its primary purpose of selling and managing digitally distributed games. Speaking to Shacknews in response to inquiries regarding today's announcement, Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi noted that Valve hopes to continue expanding Steam out to support additional types of content.

Recently, the company laid out initial details for a suite of upcoming community features planned for Steam, transforming it into a social network and multiplayer matchmaking service. The introduction of those additions will likely pit the service against Microsoft's nascent Games for Window Live program.

Despite being only one of numerous game download services on the market, Steam has enjoyed a particularly strong reputation among gamers. It houses games from several dozen developers and seven major publishers.

There was no indication as to whether today's news implies an eventual Steam release of Hothead's Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, but such a scenario seems likely given Steam's game history.