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Valve updates 'Dota' card game with open tournaments and chat options
Valve has delivered the first large upgrade to Artifact since it premiered in late November, and it's clear there's lots of headroom for the Dota card game to grow. The 1.1 update adds short Open Tournaments that anyone can join. You don't have to chat up players or advertise them on social networks -- you just have to hop in and wait for Valve to pair you with an opponent. There's also a Free-for-All tourney mode that asks you to play as many people you can within three hours, awarding the win to whoever wins the most games in that time span.
'Firewatch' comes to Nintendo Switch on December 17th
After a months-long wait, Firewatch is just about ready for the Nintendo Switch. Campo Santo has announced that its outdoor adventure (and journey of self-discovery) will reach the hybrid console on December 17th through the Nintendo eShop in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Japan. It's the same game as you'll find on other consoles (with a "few tiny things" thrown in, the studio said), but that does mean you'll get post-launch additions like free roaming. There's no mention of pricing, but hey -- now's your chance to go on a virtual hike when you're outdoors in real life.
Steam gives successful developers a larger cut of game revenue
Valve wants to make Steam more alluring for large developers, and it's willing to give up a slice of the pie to make that happen. The company has revised Steam's Distribution Agreement to give its most successful publishers a larger cut of their revenue from games, add-ons and in-app purchases. Any game that has earned over $10 million on Steam since October 1st, 2018 will provide developers a 75 percent cut of future revenue rather than the usual 70 percent. If they make at least $50 million, they'll take home 80 percent on any subsequent earnings. A blockbuster hit could easily generate significantly more cash.
Fan-made 'Half-Life' remake 'Black Mesa' is nearly complete
Want to feel old? The original Half-Life has turned 20. Valve released its definitive shooter on November 19th, 1998, both stretching the possibilities of the genre (both in technology and storytelling) and laying the groundwork for the company's gaming empire. But it's not Valve celebrating the momentous occasion -- instead, it's up to the fans. Crowbar Collective has released a trailer for the final portion of its Black Mesa remake, introducing its take on the strange Xen dimension that ends the first Half-Life game.
Valve removes game purchases from Steam Link's iOS beta
Apple and Valve have been at an impasse for weeks over the release of Steam Link for iOS, but it looks like they might be closer to an arrangement... if not necessarily the one you'd hope for. TouchArcade has discovered that the latest beta test for Steam Link's iOS edition removes purchasing from within the app. If you visit a game's product page, the usual buying options are replaced with a notice that the content is "available for purchase from your PC." You can use any existing funds in your wallet when you're in the Steam Marketplace, but you can't add funds.
Steam no longer accepts bitcoin for game purchases
Have you been stockpiling bitcoin to go on a Steam shopping spree? You'll need to change your plans. Valve has stopped accepting bitcoin due to a combination of high transaction costs (up from 20 cents in the beginning to $20) and "volatility" in the cryptocurrency's value. While the virtual cash has never been especially stable, its worth has taken a roller coaster ride over the past few months. Its value has been skyrocketing lately (one bitcoin is worth $13,300 US as of this writing), but it has also crashed hard -- Valve cited a 25 percent drop "over a period of days" as an example. That fluctuation creates a huge problem if you make a purchase and it doesn't complete before the usual bitcoin price guarantee elapses, as you may have to pay an outstanding balance and a second transaction fee.
Steam Autumn Sale cuts prices on 'Shadow of War' and 'Evil Within 2'
It's time for Steam's annual Autumn Sale -- and as is often the case, there are deals on major games you might have missed earlier in the year. Most notably, the promo (which runs until November 28th) cuts the price of the relatively fresh Middle-earth: Shadow of War by 40 percent to $36. If you weren't thrilled at paying full price for the sequel, this might be more palpable. Bethesda's recent horror title The Evil Within 2 is half off at $30, while the brutal hack-and-slash Dark Souls 3 is down 60 percent to $24.
'Dota 2' won't be so intimidating to newcomers
For many rookies in Dota 2 and other multiplayer online battle arena games, the biggest obstacle isn't the game itself -- sometimes, it's the community. There are certainly helpful players, but MOBAs are notorious for jaded players who are hostile to anyone who isn't already a grizzled veteran. Valve wants to fix that. It's delivering a Dota 2 update that matches newcomers with players with reliably high behavior scores, reducing the chances that someone will berate you while you're still learning the ropes. There's no guarantee they'll be forgiving, but it's better than risking a stream of profanity just because you haven't spent 200 hours mastering your hero.
Valve hired the team behind 'Kerbal Space Program' (update: not quite)
Worried that Valve's recent departures mark an end to conventional game development at the Half-Life studio? You might have a glimmer of hope. Valve has confirmed that it hired the team at Squad, better known as the creators of the shipbuilding hit Kerbal Space Program. The company isn't saying just how many people it hired, what they're working on or what's happening to KSP ("more details soon," a spokesperson says), but former Valve designer Roger Lundeen had said in the Game Dev Unchained podcast that the "entire team" had made the leap.
Steam's 2016 top sellers include 'No Man's Sky' and 'Rocket League'
Want a (mostly) complete snapshot of the PC gaming scene as it was in 2016? Head over to Steam. Valve's portal has listed the top 100 best sellers of the year based on revenue, and it clearly reflects what people were buying. Indie titles had a particularly strong showing in 2016, most notably No Man's Sky -- yes, despite the backlash over its grandiose promises, the space exploration game raked in enough cash to be one of Steam's "platinum" sellers. While NMS' $50 price tag no doubt helped (it didn't have to move as many copies as its rivals to rake in money), it's apparent that the PC version wasn't the outright commercial flop some expected it to be.
Lionsgate deal brings big-name movies to Steam
You've had pretty slim pickings for major movie rentals on Steam (unless you really like Mad Max), but that's changing today. Lionsgate has reached a deal with Valve to put over 100 of its movies on Steam, including flicks you'll definitely recognize -- the Hunger Games, Saw and Twilight movies, for example. Availability might vary where you live, but the prices are at least right. You're usually looking at between $4 to $5 for a 48-hour rental, depending on how big a title you're hoping to watch.
Australia: Steam's old no-refund policy broke the law
Were you unhappy that Valve didn't offer refunds on Steam until last June? Neither was Australia. The country's Federal Court has ruled that Valve violated consumer law by denying Steam gamers refunds under any conditions. You're entitled to get your money back on shoddy products, the court says, whether they're digital or physical. The penalty has yet to be determined, but it may be muted given that Valve has already changed its tune.
'Half-Life' writer Marc Laidlaw leaves Valve after 18 years
If you've been holding your breath for Half-Life 3 over the past 12 years, we have two questions for you: How are you still alive? Can you handle more disappointment? Marc Laidlaw, an 18-year veteran of Valve Software and the lead writer of Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and its two subsequent episodes, has left the company. News of his departure broke on Reddit after user TeddyWolf posted screenshots of an email exchange with Laidlaw (which Eurogamer has since verified). In the email, Laidlaw confirms his "retirement" from Valve.
Steam's Christmas privacy issues affected 34,000 users
On Christmas day, up to 34,000 Steam members were able to view other users' private information, including billing and email addresses, following a glitch triggered by a denial-of-service attack, Valve announced today. On the day of the attack, Valve said that the glitch was the result of a caching issue, and that users were able to view strangers' information, though they couldn't take action on other people's accounts. Valve's update today clarifies the caching issue, attributing it to the DoS attack.
Valve starts handing out HTC's VR headset to developers
If you're one of the fortunate few software developers to have scored HTC's Vive virtual reality headset, you'll want to keep an eye out for a delivery truck in the near future. Valve has confirmed that it's shipping the Vive Developer Edition to a "wide range" of teams, ranging from indie game studios to big-name movie producers. It's not clear how many got their VR headgear, although Owlchemy Labs' Devin Reimer has revealed that he's on the short list. You'll still have to wait until the end of the year to snag a Vive if you're a regular gamer, unfortunately. Still, the developer release at least suggests that the public launch is on track.
Portal comes to NVIDIA's Shield as an exclusive Android port (updated)
You won't have to stick to a PC or TV to play Valve's iconic games in the future. The developer is teaming up with NVIDIA to bring the original Portal to the Shield handheld -- in other words, Portal is coming to Android. The two haven't said just when the space-defying puzzle title will be available on the Shield, although it unfortunately sounds like other Android devices may be out of luck. We've reached out to see if there's a possibility of a wider release. Still, it's good to see Valve dip its toes in the mobile gaming waters, unlike certain companies. And hey -- it'll be as good an excuse as any to get reacquainted with your Companion Cube. Update: An NVIDIA spokesperson says that the company isn't discussing "additional devices and/or device requirements at this time."
Steam Early Access makes public game tests a near-automatic affair
Many gotta-have-it-first gamers are very familiar with public betas and other chances to try titles before they officially reach the servers -- but not on Steam, where the closed system has usually left people waiting for final builds. Valve doesn't want to leave customers on the sidelines, though, and is launching Steam Early Access to provide officially sanctioned peeks. The portal gives pre-release games the same automatic updates and community features as their finished counterparts, making it easy to squash bugs as they're discovered, take feedback and simply let testers focus on playing rather than patching. Early Access' initial roster is small: it focuses mostly on the ArmA III alpha as well as a swath of puzzle and RPG releases, so don't expect to preview all the latest blockbusters. However, it might still be a win for both nervous game creators and especially eager players.
Valve's 'Sea of Cubes,' and the challenges of working with augmented reality
Valve Software's experiments with virtual reality, most recently exposed as a "VR Mode" of its popular free-to-play shooter Team Fortress 2, are actually just an offshoot of the company's longer-term goal: augmented reality. The dozens of AR markers plastered to the three walls of Valve programmer Joe Ludwig's shared office are testament to that (seen above). "We're mostly looking at a software level. We've talked to a bunch of different display vendors on the augmented reality side, and none of them are quite ready to go yet," Ludwig says when we prod him for more on Valve's AR efforts. One thing's for sure: we didn't spot any Google Glasses on-site, nor products from other companies producing wearable computers, not to mention in-house glasses. "We've done some gameplay prototypes," he says. "We've done some test pattern type stuff. But that's basically it. There's an application that we call 'Sea of Cubes' that fills the room you're in with cubes just to basically test a bunch of different tracking methods and displays." Thus far, though, Valve isn't much deeper than that. A variety of different cameras mounted on tripods can be seen throughout Ludwig's office. A $30,000 3D camera, which looks an awful lot like a giant Microsoft Kinect, sits in one corner. Ludwig tells us it can pinpoint specific objects with incredible accuracy, though he wouldn't share much more. It's not clear what all of this means for Valve's AR work, but it's clearly still a work-in-progress. Indeed, when the company first started talking wearable computing, Valve's Michael Abrash called it "more research than development." So, what fruit has come of that research since last April?%Gallery-183116%
Playing an actual game with Oculus Rift: hands-on with Valve's Team Fortress 2 'VR Mode'
Valve's free-to-play first-person shooter, Team Fortress 2, is getting Oculus Rift support with its VR Mode update in the coming weeks. Think of it as a large beta test -- Oculus Rift dev kits ship to Kickstarter backers and Team Fortress 2 players on PC can snag a free update, thus feeding Valve valuable feedback on how people play TF2 with VR. The only thing left to know is perhaps the most important: how does it play? We found out just that on a recent visit to Valve's Bellevue, Wash., offices, where Valve programmer Joe Ludwig lead us through a hands-on demo of the game's VR Mode update on a near-final build of the Oculus Rift dev kit (not quite the one shipping to backers, but far more advanced than the previous Oculus prototypes we've used). Follow us beyond the break for detailed impressions of playing an actual game (read: not just tech demos) with the Oculus Rift VR headset.%Gallery-183116%
Valve's Joe Ludwig on the uncertain future of virtual reality and partnering with Oculus
It's a beautiful late winter day in Bellevue, Wash. Instead of enjoying the outdoors, I'm sitting in a rectangular white room with three programmers, surrounded by three walls covered in augmented reality markers. Not that I'm complaining: Valve Software's Joe Ludwig, the programmer in the room who most resembles a member of Anthrax, is walking me through his company's latest work in the world of virtual reality. It's the first anyone outside of Valve will see of the company's VR efforts thus far. As it turns out, the software company is working with Oculus VR to port the tremendously popular free-to-play first-person shooter, Team Fortress 2, to the upcoming Rift development kit. The free update, dubbed "VR Mode," is the latest benchmark in Valve's ongoing hardware initiative. "We think that both augmented and virtual reality are going to be a huge deal over the next several years," Ludwig tells us.%Gallery-183116%
