Steam "Big Picture" mode hits beta in September
Steam's television mode and Steam Greenlight are coming soon
In an interview with GameTrailers TV, Valve designer Greg Coomer explained that Steam's planned "Big Picture" mode for televisions will hit beta in September.
"In early September you'll be able to hop into a beta, click a button, and see Steam reformatted for your TV and usable with a PC game controller, or a mouse and keyboard if you wanna play that way," said Coomer. "Everything will be there, so you don't have to give up your favorite stuff once you walk from the den to the living room."
Valve founder Gabe Newelll was also on hand to explain that Valve isn't doing its own Steam Box console to run alongside Big Picture mode. Instead, the company hope hardware vendors will big their own hardware and innovation to the table.
"We show [Big Picture to] hardware guys and say, 'Look, if this is a useful tool for you to deliver your hardware into living rooms, that's great.'" said Newell.
Valve also revealed that Steam Greenlight, the service's new indie game vetting system, would be going live on August 30, 2012. The system will allow users to vote on which games get a full release on Steam. Developers can sign up for Greenlight during any point of the game's development and post content for users to vote on.