After keeping Linux users waiting for many, many years, Valve finally announced it would release a Linux-based Steam earlier this year.
According to earlier reports, Steam of Linux has been a work in progress for quite some time, but it wasn't until Gabe Newell became personally involved that things really began to lift off. And lift off they did, just four months after the announcement, Valve is about ready to launch its internal beta testing.
The company posted in its blog on Wednesday, stating its internal beta testing will begin next week. Additionally, the company will also invite a very small number of people for further testing later on in the month.
Valve says it will bring 1,000 people in for the testing in October, which is set to involve Steam, one Steam game and support for Ubuntu 12.04 and later. Despite the quick beta testing, it seems as though Valve still has a bit of work to do, since the upcoming beta won't feature Big Picture Mode or additional Steam titles.
The company didn't explicitly say which game will be featured in the test, but reports indicate the company has already been using Left 4 Dead 2 for internal testing. No sign-up is available at the moment, but Valve says it will have a beta sign-up form coming soon. Additionally, the company also suggests new Linux users sit this beta out, because it's looking for more experienced Linux users.
