Steam was 'born' in 2003 to act as a delivery mechanism for Valve's games, primarily intended to facilitate quicker patching of games such as Counter-Strike and other contemporary hits.
In the beginning, actual gamers were more cautious; since at the time, less than 20 per cent of U.S. households even had broadband, asking gamers to stay constantly connected was very forward-thinking.
Originally, Steam faced problems with the mechanism of game activation; originally, a person had to open backdoors through the method of having user accounts plus email confirmation.
In that respect, 2003 was also the year CD keys — letters and numbers — rolled into the picture offering a simpler, yet more secure method of activating the games.
That was merely the tip of the iceberg in making great real efforts toward enhancing general user experience and security.
By 2005, Steam had diversified content dramatically via third-party game offerings. Before 2005, Steam was essentially a Valve game downloader, but in 2005, it essentially transformed into a game store.
This change did not only expand content but also attracted many other developers and publishers to the platform. This, in turn, helped them all grow together to take the lead in the gaming industry.
These milestones have since launched Steam into becoming the leading digital distribution platform that continues to adjust and innovate to meet the needs of its ever-expanding user base.