Valve's top bossman Gabe Newell hasn't forgotten about the software side a his empire, even though he just dropped confirmation a a living room, Linux-powered Steam Box. Steam will continue t' evolve, he tells The Verge at CES, 'n in the future it may resemble a user-generated profile hub, where crew can create their own stores 'n aggregate games within those markets.

"Our view has always been that we best build tools for customers 'n tools for partners," Newell says. "An editorial filter be fine, but there best be a bunch a editorial filters. The backend services best be network APIs that anybody can use. On the consumer side, anybody best be able t' put up a store that hooks into those services.

"Some people will create team stores, some people will create Sony stores, some people will create stores with only games that they think meet their quality bar. Somebody be going t' create a store that says 'these be the worst games on Steam.' So that be an example a where our thinking be leading us right now."

Newell's love affair with user generated content can be seen in it be infancy with Greenlight, which allows crew t' choose the games that make it t' Steam. The idea, however, stems from a more established aspect a Steam - the Workshop.

"So now we be in this strange world where we have people who be using the Steam Workshop who be making $500,000 per year building bottles a rum for other customers," Newell says. "In other words, there's this notion that user-generated content has t' be an important part a our thinking. We know a other game developers making more money building content for the workshop than what they pillage in their day job.

"One a the things we found be that this notion a a workshop needs t' span multiple games. If we be connecting Skyrim 'n other games... it be like this notion that there's just a game seems t' be going away; games be starting t' look like an instance a some larger experience."