I've been having a lot of fun playing Valve's new card game, Artifact, since it launched on Wednesday. It is surprisingly easy to learn and is an interesting take that borrows from Hearthstone and Magic: The Gathering while doing something new. The game also treats its digital cards unusually, letting people buy and sell their cards. I was sceptical about that last bit, but I've found it refreshing.

Artifact, Richard Garfield's Dota 2-based CCG, is finally out. But with all the talk of monetisation models and an upfront $27.95 fee, people are still wondering: what do you get for your initial buy-in?

Valve finally has a new game out. Can you believe it? A card game based on Dota 2, Artifact launched today on Steam. After having messed around with it for several hours, I can report that there is indeed a ton of stuff going on in Artifact, but that it’s also one of the more approachable card games I’ve played, at least when first starting out.

Artifact is, for better and worse, shaping up to be a very Valve card game in that it’s a clever, complex re-imagining of DOTA 2—complete with lanes and heroes—but it’s also heavily tied into a real-money marketplace.

In fact, there’s currently no way to earn new cards without spending at least a pinch of your hard-earned cash. Some fans aren’t pleased about that last part. In response, Valve is making some changes.

This month, Valve will cast its hat into the ring of digital collectable card games with Artifact, co-developed with Magic: The Gathering maestro Richard Garfield. In the lead up to the launch, set for the 28th, Valve has rebooted Artifact's official website. Though it's not much to look at... yet.

Valve’s card game Artifact is coming out in November. Recently, the Artifact Twitter account has been tweeting out designs for some of the cards alongside explanations of how they work. On September 27, that included a card called “Crack The Whip”, the text of which begins “Modify a black hero...” Today the name of the card was changed.

There are two things in this world that Valve evidently loves more than anything: hands-off approaches and the invisible hand of the market.

And wouldn’t you know it: DOTA 2 card game Artifact is gonna have plenty of both.

At Valve, everything happens in Valve Time — even fans learning to appreciate new games, apparently.

If you're still a little unsure about what's happening with Valve's Dota 2 CCG, here's six minutes of footage that probably won't help.

QUOTE | "Every shot is in colossally bad taste and everyone associated with those games should be ashamed of themselves. They hurt us." - Deus Ex and System Shock developer Warren Spector was upset by the White House's video game violence montage produced for a meeting with industry leaders and critics.

Valve is back in the news again for a presentation it recently gave about its new Dota-inspired card game Artifact and its plans for the future. In addition to explaining how the new game will work, CEO Gabe Newell said the company is definitely still making games, adding to a litany of past statements about what Valve is up to that don't really say much about what Valve is up to.

Valve recently demoed its upcoming card game Artifact at its Seattle office and the details have begun pouring in. While Valve founder Gabe Newell reportedly called Blizzard's Hearthstone the "benchmark" for online card games, Artifact sounds as though it will be very different.

Remember when Valve announced they were making a digital card game called Artifact? It must have slipped their minds for a while too because they have only just now updated the official website to include a logo for Artifact.

Valve just announced a new game! It's a card game based on Dota 2. The internet is confused and upset by this.