It all started in 1997, when Valve's Gabe Newell was sipping lattes and wondering what would happen if he combined the thrill of online gaming with the agony of waiting for 56k dialup.
Fast forward to 2004, and the Steam client was born. The world was never the same, except for the parts that were exactly the same.
Over the years, Steam has seen its fair share of ups and downs. From Half-Life 2 to Team Fortress 2, it's had its fair share of masterpieces and trainwrecks.
Today, Steam is the place to be for gamers of discerning taste. Where else can you find the likes of Portal, Counter-Strike, and the occasional cat pictures?
Explore more of Steam's storied past:
Summer Steam Fest 2018: Where the Games Went Wild
Steam Games Awards: Because Who Doesn't Love a Good Award?
Did you know that Steam's first mascot, Mr. Steamy McSteamface, was originally going to be a talking piece of toast?
But, alas, that never happened. Instead, we got this:
What do you think the Steam mascot should have been?
Steam's user base has grown to over 100 million gamers. That's more people than there are cats in a cat cafe. Maybe.
Join us for Steam Meetups, Steam Meetups 2: Electric Boogaloo, and Steam Meetups 3: The Revenge of the Meetups.
Buy Steam-themed merchandise, because you never know when you'll need a Steam-themed mug for your Steam-filled life.