Lionsgate officially launches movie digital distribution through Steam

If you've logged on to Steam today, you'd have noticed something very different, a Lionsgate movie takeover. Valve Corp. and Lionsgate have officially partnered up to bring the film juggernaut's library of movies to rent on Steam. The launch includes all four of The Hunger Games movies, the Kill Bill movies, Saw and Kick-Ass.

The rental prices are fairly reasonable as the movies range from $3.99 to $4.99. The terms of the rentals are a bit confusing, but basically you have 30 days to begin a 48 hour period in which you can watch the movie. The countdown timer doesn't begin until you launch the movie, but once you do, there's no going back. Once your rental time runs out, the movie will remain in your library but you can still purchase additional time.

It's tough to project how well this rental service will work out in the long term, especially when put up against the likes of Netflix and Red Box. However, it's an interesting experiment none the less.

Sources: [Variety.com, Steam]