Valve strengthens Steam setup

System of a download

Valve has announced an update to its Steam games shop which promises to make the download system "better, stronger and faster".

Data will be sent through an HTTP system more firewall-friendly than before, automatically taking advantage of web-caching proxies installed at ISPs.

The new system will also make updates smaller, allowing customers to download the tweaked parts of a patch, rather than the entire file again.

This will pave the way for Steam to eventually install features such as download scheduling, bandwidth throttling and download prioritisation. Users will be able to download an update for a game while playing it, with the update applied only after exiting.

Some Steam content is already delivered through the new system. Download an HD trailer from the Steam store to give it a try. Other content will follow soon. ®