Steam Cloud floats into view

Leading games developer Valve has finally flicked the on switch for its extension to its popular download service, Steam Cloud.

As reported by Develop in May, Steam Cloud remotely stores a users game options and preferences enabling their experience to remain consistent, even when logging in from a different location or different machine.

The first game to support Steam Cloud will be the upcoming Left 4 Dead – and the currently available demo is already Clud-enabled.

“For some time now, Steam has allowed gamers to log on from any computer in the world and access their applications,” Valve president and co-founder Gabe Newell stated. “This also makes it easy to upgrade a PC without worrying about losing your games. Steam Cloud is a natural extension of the portability Steam affords gamers and developers, and we intend to expand its feature set as it is used in Left 4 Dead and other games coming to Steam.”

Steam Cloud is available for all developers to use for free, and Valve has promised to update its existing back catalogue to add compatibility.