Valve has been offering more and more PC games based on the free-to-play business model on its Steam service. This week, Massively reports that Korean-based Nexon is the latest to join the Steam library. The publisher has now made its fantasy MMO Vindictus available to download on Steam for North American, Australian and New Zealand gamers. Two more games from Nexon, the fantasy RPG Dungeon Fighter Online and the first person shooter Combat Arms, will be released on Steam later in June.
Nexon and Valve has collaborated before. Vindictus is based on Valve's Source Engine, and a number of years ago Nexon and Valve collaborated on Counter-Strike Online, a version of Valve's multiplayer shooter that was developed for Southeast Asian-based gaming cafes. Earlier this year, Nexon and Valve announced they would develop a sequel, Counter-Strike Online 2.
Daniel Kim, the CEO of Nexon America, is quoted as saying, "Valve has been a great global partner to Nexon for many years, and this agreement continues the marriage of Nexon's immersive content with Valve's strong distribution channel and large player community."
Of course, Valve's own Team Fortress 2 is now a free-to-play game. The developer's upcoming action-RTS game Dota 2 is also slated as a free-to-play title and should launch later this year.
Source: Massively
