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Gearbox: PC distributors should play nice

Frustrated that Steam, GfW Live don't talk.

Gearbox Software has called on gamers to tell PC distribution services like Steam and Games for Windows Live to co-operate with one another so people can play together.

"We want people to be able to play together and right now if a guy buys a game on Games for Windows and a guy buys a game on Steam - they can't play together. If another guy bought it in a retail store, he can't play with the first two guys," Gearbox head of marketing Steve Gibson told the London Games Festival blog.

"Right now we're like, 'Please, work together'. Our big concern right now is that these silos are being built. Everybody's separating out and it's really... as a developer who just wants gamers to be able to play games together, it's frustrating right now.

"Things like that are hurting the PC industry for gamers. This is frustrating for everybody right now. Call out to the gamers. Hey gamers? Tell these guys to play nice!"

Gibson had been asked whether Duke Nukem Forever - which the studio announced a few weeks ago that it would be finishing following 3D Realms' collapse - would be made available on Valve's Steam service, which boasts over 25 million users, or at retail.

He didn't directly answer that, but said, "We wanted to have as many ways that people could get to it as possible."

Duke publisher 2K Games has traditionally used Steam as one of several distribution mechanisms for its PC products - most recently including Civilization V and Mafia II. Like the latter, Duke is also due out for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Check out our Duke Nukem Forever hands-on if you ain't afraid of no quake.