Valve's Alien Swarm Game For Linux?

While the best cards have not yet been dealt, for those hoping to see Valve's "Alien Swarm" game supported on Linux upon the Steam / Source Engine Linux release, you may be in luck. Windowing code within the Alien Swarm SDK is signalling that there may be support for this game coming to Linux.

Within one of the header files for the Alien Swarm SDK are Linux references to the windowing code (read: not for the server). A copy of the portion of the source header file is available from the Steam Forums.

#elif defined( PLATFORM_LINUX )
#define DEFINE_WINDOWED_APPLICATION_OBJECT_GLOBALVAR( _globalVarName ) \
int main( int argc, char **argv ) \
{ \
extern int ValveLinuxWindowedMain( int argc, char **argv, CAppSystemGroup *pAppSystemGroup ); \
return ValveLinuxWindowedMain( argc, argv, &_globalVarName ); \
}
#else

But this isn't as exciting as the Steam Linux client partially running or the undiscovered cards yet.

Here's how Valve describes Alien Swarm in their Steam Store for those interested:

Alien Swarm is a game and Source SDK release from a group of talented designers at Valve who were hired from the Mod community.

Available free of charge, the game thrusts players into an epic bug hunt featuring a unique blend of co-op play and squad-level tactics. With your friends, form a squad of four distinct IAF Marine classes. Plan your attack using an unlockable arsenal of weapons with countless loadout configurations against a wide variety of aliens. Blaze your way through an overrun, off-world colony, eradicating the alien infestation in environments ranging from the icy planet's surface, to a subterranean lava-flooded mining facility.

For now though you can run Alien Swarm under Wine.