Steam Music Beta Coming to Steam OS Soon

Ever wish you could listen to Chopin while mowing down zombies? Or explore Skyrim with Beyoncé playing in the background? Soon you’ll be able to! 

Valve is bringing an in-game music player to Steam OS, which will allow users to listen to their personal music libraries while gaming.

In a fashion similar to iTunes, Steam Music will connect to the user’s computer music directory and display their entire collection in the Steam Library. From there, they’ll be able to access the Steam Music player, browse their music collection by album and artist, and manage playlists,  all while playing their favorite Steam games.

Steam Music Beta will first launch for SteamOS and Big Picture mode, but a desktop version won’t be far behind. At the moment, only MP3 files will be supported, although according to Valve, that is expected to change.

Valve has been open about their interest in pursuing the music and video markets since Steam OS’s announcement back in September. While there’s no store involved (yet), the debut of Steam Music appears to mark Valve’s first big step in that direction.  

Those interested in participating in beta testing can join Steam Music’s community group. Invites will be sent out to group members at random until the feature is finally released.