Within the confines of Valve’s HQ in Washington, no doubt many projects are on the boil — or frying or blanching — whatever it does to create its unique type of magic. Some internet sleuthing may have uncovered one such enterprise, though all we know is that it’s called “Trading Card”.
An image offering beta access to Trading Card can be found on Steam’s content distribution network (FYI, it’s the same as the one above). SteamDB has slightly more information, but nothing that reveals its purpose.
Given the name, you might posit that it’s related to some sort of trading or collectible card game, though you’d think it’d be branded as an actual game, rather than a concept. It’d be like Wizards of the Coast calling Magic: The Gathering “Richard Garfield’s Trading Card Game”.
What’s more likely is that it’s a new Steam feature or service. It could be tied to Valve’s plans to make Steam a more open platform, providing developers and publishers with the tools necessary to sell games without having to go through the rigmarole and largely flawed system that is Greenlight. The “trading card” in this case is a virtual credential of sorts, making one a verified seller.
But that’s just a guess. Maybe it is a weird card game where people trade Team Fortress 2 hats for a legendary Gabe Newell card with 20/20 stats and a tap ability that allows you to create an “Award Winning Game”… as long as you don’t mind waiting three million turns to untap.
SteamDB Unknown App 202352 [SteamDB, via Reddit]
Comments
10 responses to “So, Valve, What Is This Steam ‘Trading Card’ You’re Beta Testing?”
Maybe you get different trading cards for buying games, getting achievements, opening TF2 boxes and drops in certain events (Christmas in Killing Floor for example) and you use those cards to battle other steam users.
It would give players a reason to go back and play their old games.
I doubt that would be it, but if it is I’ll be all over that
Possibility factor is low, awesomeness level is high.
Agreed
Trading – perhaps you can trade games? 2nd hand digital sales? Im sick of xcom trade it with a mate for torchlight?
Yes, that would be epic.
Maybe Half Life 3 will be a turn based card game.
“Half-Life 3 is the much anticipated follow-up to Valve’s Half-Life 2: Episode Two, released in 2007 to critical acclaim. Utilising Valve’s prior experience with trading through their Steam game delivery system, Half-Life 3 will be a unique turn-based card game experience, with elements of physics puzzles, platforming and first person shooting- all of which are trademarks of Valve’s iconic Half-Life series”
^ Just a possible product description that I wrote up. It would be pretty funny if it actually happened
Hahahaha! Half Life 3
My money is on Valve is implementing a market system for trading card based games (ie. Magic the Gathering). Trying to start up an economy like TF2 hats and items.