https://www.cnet.com/news/valve-debuts-steam-link-anywhere-opens-its-multiplayer-platform-to-devs/

Less glamorous than cross-network gameplay, the boring-sounding news about the addition of new APIs to the Steamworks SDK is actually quite notable: The extensions give developers access to Steam's network backbone and packet management skills -- honed via its DOTA 2 and Counterstrike: Global Offensive experience -- for multiplayer games. This should (in theory) lighten the cost load for midsize and small developers, making it possible for them to host multiplayer games without having to worry about some of the big network pains, like latency, on a far-less-than AAA budget.

This comes at a time when Valve's under pressure for its controversial hands-off policy vis-a-vis games Steam carries (yet again), as well as dealing with publishers defecting to other platforms.