Mac users get Steam powered Civilisation

THE PLAY ANYWHERE gaming service Steam has confirmed that players of Civilization can take their virtual worlds with them onto Apple Mac PCs.

The Sid Meier game is a perennial favourite amongst users with a God complex, and you could call Steam the cornucopia of PC gaming these days. A lot of firms choose to distribute their games through it, and it lets users buy a game once and play it on a range of platforms.

The addition of Steam for Macs takes the service to a whole new user base, and we think it represents a pretty significant boost for gamers of all kinds. Perhaps proof of this is the fact that the firm has added the ability to play a range of Civilization IV games on the Mac, direct from a player's Steam library.

Portal, the mind-bending free-roaming plaftformer was the first game to hit Steam for the Mac, and soon to join it will be Runic Games' Torchlight. "We're very excited to be bringing Torchlight to the Mac," said Max Schaefer, co-founder of Runic Games. "Having Steam for the Mac solves so many problems for us as a developer. We look forward to our future games coming out on the Mac as well."

Valve will add fresh titles to Steam for the Mac every Wednesday, with each being designed to highlight its 'specific functionalities'.

Portal is free on all platforms 'til the 24th of May. µ