So the cat is out of the bag. Steam is coming to Mac. Let that sink in. Has it?

Gamers on the Mac have always been the unwanted step-children of the gaming community. Some claim that if you’re a gamer you need a PC, and while mobile devices are changing the face of gaming on computer systems, it’s nice to see Mac gamers get a nod with the release of Steam. When it comes to the public, expect Mac gamers to lock themselves away while they take advantage of the vast library using Valve’s network.

Steam will allow gamers to directly access their games from the network, download and start playing immediately. It’s also a great community builder since gamers can connect on Steam and play games together or against one another. While surfing the multi-player game servers, you’ll be able to join chats, matches and tournaments. Gamers on the network also benefit from automatic game updates.

What makes Steam even more appealing, is that the games you download are associated to the account, not the system you’re playing on. So if you choose to change computers, as long as it meets minimal requirements, then you’re gaming experience remains unchanged. So this coming April, Mac users with the latest version of Mac OSX will be able to access all this gaming goodness.

There’s still lots of questions with regards to how this will work on the Mac, and thanks to 1UP.com, here’s what Valve’s Director of Business Development, Jason Holtman has to say:

“Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac. Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.”