I could totally see Microsoft trying to buy Steam in the near future. Not only are they having Bethesda do pro-Steam moves like this and generally supporting Steam, but they have a personal relationship with Valve, as Microsoft is where Gabe Newell started his career. However Valve is still a private company and I can't imagine Gaben will want to give up his money faucet.
Valve was started as a reaction to Microsoft. Back when they were game devs it was pretty much "Gabe and co want to develop their own games without corporate meddling". I can't see Valve selling until the early people are near retirement, and I'm sure they've had offers.
I really hope that Microsoft is not allowed to gobble up any more gaming-related companies. At some point anti-trust regulators need to start giving a shit again.
