I agree, however the fact the official support channel is saying it does make it seem like they have an actual plan in place. Which makes me think it might be written into the Steam publisher agreements.

True, and adding to that: PC/Windows gaming becomes a niche, and Valve has simply moved on to greener pastures, e.g. Steambox, or future Android devices.

It wouldn't be the first time an online service is brought down after it is considered obsolete and not bringing in any revenue anymore to the company.

Don't want to be the spoilsport here (and I'm an unabashed Steam-basher, so feel free to take my words with a grain of salt), but they said that you still "have access" to your games. Which might not necessarily mean that you'll be able to actually play them.

Also, I can't imagine that all the publishers who joined the Steam brigade would be too happy if their games would suddenly be patched to become (possibly) DRM-free.

Interesting statement:

"...we would make every effort to release NoSteam executables for any of our games...".

Wait, what? Wasn't the original argument that in the impossible event that Steam would ever close down, Valve would simply release one final update to the Steam client, making all Steam games 100% DRM free overnight?

If that was true, why does Egosoft say they would individually patch out the DRM from their games? Didn't Valve tell them yet that wouldn't be necessary, as Valve supposedly has a magical DRM-free kill switch for all thousands of Steam games? :)

Well, anyone with at least half a brain understands it is more complicated than that, and at least most Steam games would have to be patched out individually, and most probably by the original developer (which probably doesn't even exist at that point).

Or, it could simply mean "use the offline mode". Naturally that would still mean that you can't re-install or transfer your Steam games, but just continue playing them on the PC where you have already installed them. As long as the offline mode works, anyway.

"that didn't cost money for unlimited hosting" <---Key point of my comment. If I wanted to spend money it would never be on a crappy subscription service.

While marginally better, I'm in no position to hold a titan's heels to the flame. Rather, I'm looking for an authoritative public statement. Valve's silence despite years of fuss does not make for a positive outlook.

It's quite a shame too, they have so many fantastic exclusives there. I've become afraid to fall in love with them. :(

Nobody* is in a position to hold a US-based corporation to anything if they have to go through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. But it's still got to be worth something that they have contingency plans in place. Sure, you can always armchair quarterback a situation where things go exactly wrong. It's probably worthwhile though to accept that we don't know any of the confidential details of the agreements publishers make with Valve, and it's generally unhelpful to go around claiming doomsday is approaching.

*Yes, courts. Stakeholders will be given consideration; customers, generally not.