Steam is a success. Most, if not all, of Valve's games are also a success but could Valve's success with Steam actually be preventing it from delivering even more great games?

According to Stardock's Brad Wardell, the answer is yes. Wardell might actually know a thing or two about game development and digital distribution too as Stardock just sold off the company's Steam competitor -- Impulse -- to retailer GameStop. According to Wardell, Steam's success could be one reason why a new Half-Life has yet to be released.

Wardell explained that while Impulse generated a lot of revenue for the company, it also required many of the company's top people to work on it. He argued this development focus kept those same top people from working on games. Wardell argued Valve could be having similar experiences with Steam and games like Half-Life.

He was not saying this is definitely the reason for no new Half-Life but did argue putting top talent on Steam would just make sense. Wardell stated it would just make business sense to throw a business's best people at the part of the company that is making so much money. Steam certainly is making a lot of money for Valve. Wardell's logic does not seem that far fetched.

But Valve has never been known to rush out new games. They have a history of taking their sweet time and even delaying games several times before releasing the finished product. Also, as acknowledged by Wardell, Steam is much more successful than Impulse. One would think that Steam's success and profits would allow Valve to just hire more developers to work either on Steam or game development. It wouldn't seem like Valve would be forced to work with a limited number of developers who had to work on either Steam or games. However, if Steam is the part of the company that makes the most money, why not make sure it is doing well and let Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and/or Half-Life 3 sit in limbo a little longer?

What is your take? Do you think Valve spending time and resources on Steam is keeping them from working on games like the next Half-Life? If this is the case, how would that make you feel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Source: Industry Gamers