Tag Archives: valve

Steam’s biggest user base keeps getting bigger ahead of its Chinese-specific application, with over 30 million accounts reportedly originating from the region. Despite this trend, China’s stagnated approach towards video game approvals continues to rage on, hurting indie developers the most. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad credited Dota 2 for …

Valve revealed that its upcoming card game, Artifact, would utilise the Steam Marketplace in order to openly buy and sell cards, prompting worries over the game’s balance. Fortunately, the developers behind the game are confident that the price of powerful cards will remain in check thanks to cheaper decks becoming …

Valve has found itself the subject of a Brazilian investigation, after Steam’s increasingly relaxed approach allowed BS Studios to launch 2D brawler Bolsomito 2K18. Brazil’s Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories alleges that the game’s violent nature is likely to affect the country's presidential election, and has therefore …

Valve took to Twitter earlier this week to share its design philosophy regarding card interaction within Artifact. Although many were thrilled to learn what the collectible card game had in store, readers couldn’t help but notice an unfortunate choice in naming that resulted in racist connotations, prompting Valve rename the …

Over the last decade, there has been a sharp rise in the popularity of console controllers on PC. While there are still many keyboard and mouse purists knocking around, sitting back with a gamepad has grown tremendously and Valve's latest breakdown of the stats offer plenty of proof. Back in …

Valve has been no stranger to governments taking issue with the Steam refund policy. The situation in Australia may have wrapped up but now authorities in France want to take a crack at Valve's legal team. Over in France, both Valve and Ubisoft have been fined for breaching consumer laws. …

Valve has been working away on its next hardware launch for a while now. The Knuckles controllers have evolved significantly since first being unveiled a couple of years ago. A few months ago, we got to see a near-final version of these controllers and this week, Valve released another updated …

Last week, Valve approved Negligee: Love Stories as its first fully uncensored adult game on Steam, moving forward with its plans for a more open platform. While Valve’s process might be easier, Dharker Studios is still bound by the laws of individual regions, seeing Negligee: Love Stories restricted from release …

Back in June, Valve outlined its new content control policy, even giving the most controversial titles a chance to sell on Steam provided they remain within the law and don’t troll users. Now, Valve has elaborated on its definition of trolling, alongside revamping Steam’s search feature with a brand new …

Since launching in 2011, The International Dota 2 tournament has grown tremendously and is a core focus for Valve each year. The tournament has moved around a couple of times over the years, with the US, Canada and Germany all hosting the event. Next year, The International will be moving …

Alongside the official launch of Steam TV catering to Valve’s $25 million Dota 2 tournament, fans of the MOBA got something they never knew they wanted so badly: a Gabe Newell Mega Kills announcer pack. The Valve CEO graces players with a deadpan delivery that perhaps rivals the comedic stylings …

Last week, we began hearing that Valve might be planning a Steam update that would bring Windows game compatibility to Linux on a wider scale. Now, the feature has launched in public beta, giving Linux users the chance to test out some new games that were previously only available on …

Way back in late 2014, Valve began experimenting with game broadcasting, bringing the ability for Steam users to livestream their games to their friends. Last week, we noticed that bigger moves were being made, as Valve was gearing up to launch Steam.tv. Now, the site is officially live. We don't …

Way back in late 2014, Valve began experimenting with broadcasting, bringing the ability for Steam users to livestream their games to their friends. Now almost four years later, we are seeing bigger moves being made, as Valve has launched Steam.tv, which appears to be a competitor to Twitch. The site …

In a bid to make Steam a more open platform, Valve said it would begin to allow almost all legal content back in June, so long as it isn’t trolling or a scam. This includes dropping its long-term feud against games with sexual content, however Valve has warned developers that …

While Valve hasn't been pushing for Linux gaming particularly hard since the rise and fall of Steam Machines, the company is still working on SteamOS to this day. According to reports, Valve may have figured out a way to make more games accessible on Linux with a new ‘Steam Play' …

Over the last couple of years, Valve has simplified the Steam sale process quite a bit. Developers now have control to set their own sale prices ahead of time and flash sales were removed from the equation. This made it easier for buyers to pick up what they wanted at …

It has been a long while since we last heard about anything surrounding Valve's next game, Artifact. Last time we checked in, there was an invite-only preview event, which we only got to see brief snippets of. Now, Artifact is ready for the public, and has a final release date. …

A wave of games have been pulled from the Steam store this week after it was revealed that they were using the built-in trading system to scam users with fake items. Luckily Valve has already wised up to the matter, introducing new trade protections. Abstractism was the first of the …

We have another Steam scam coming to light this week. Just yesterday, we learned of a game that doubled as a cryptocurrency miner. Today, we are finding out about a game that is being used to scam people with fake Dota 2 items on the Steam marketplace. A game called …

It is well known at this point that hundreds of games launch on Steam every week and a good chunk of them aren't particularly good. Over time, Valve has been clamping down on the number of ways poor quality games can make money on Steam, like changing the trading card …

Over the last couple of years, we've seen an exodus of writers at Valve, with multiple veterans leaving the studio to work on other projects. This included Half-Life writer, Marc Laidlaw, The duo behind Left 4 Dead and Jay Pinkerton, who worked on Portal 2 and some of the Team …

While Valve has removed loot boxes from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in the Netherlands after the country’s conclusion that the practice is gambling, it looks like the developer is trialling a different method for Dota 2. Still in compliance with newly introduced laws, Dutch players will now be able to see …

While Ubisoft is just finding its feet in punishing hackers, Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) is often celebrated among players, becoming a staple term for those that get banned both on and off Steam. VAC bans have reached an all-time high last week, with over 90,000 players being hit with the banhammer. …

Valve’s increased focus on user privacy spelled bad news for unofficial sales tracking sites in April, with Steam Spy almost shutting up shop entirely. Fan support motivated creator Sergey Galyonkin to find a workaround and just as things were starting to look up, Valve has once again stepped in and …

Valve has been making some moves on the development side lately. Aside from acquiring Campo Santo, the team behind Firewatch, Valve has also recently hired some new writers. Most notably, Valve brought Rob Yescombe on board, who penned the story behind The Invisible Hours last year. The Invisible Hours is …

While much attention is currently being placed on the Steam Summer Sale, Valve did have one other launch quietly take place last night. After some extra work and some design changes, Valve has debuted the latest version of its Knuckles VR controllers, alongside a Portal-themed tech demo called ‘Portal Moondust'. …

While controversial school shooting simulator Active Shooter was removed from Steam at the end of last month, it has remained purchasable directly through Acid Software’s website. Unfortunately, it’s just lost the support of one of the biggest means of payment, as PayPal has barred the publisher from using its services. …

Loot boxes became the subject of controversy for the Dutch back in April, as The Netherlands Gaming Authority found that some games did breach gambling laws. The country gave developers until today to alter game designs or face prosecution, forcing Valve to make some changes to its Marketplace. It’s fair …

Valve is increasingly evolving its Steam platform, attempting to prioritise quality and stomp out ‘fake games’ and reviews. The company has already put new restrictions in place to prevent asset flippers from making a quick buck, and those that do get past these security measures will have a hard time …