Steam Cards: How Do They Work?

When Valve introduced its trading cards mechanic on Steam this past May, I wasn’t sure what to expect, or sure if anyone would care. After the recent summer sale wrapped-up, though, I realized that you should never underestimate Valve. For better or for worse, trading cards are intriguing, so we’re taking a look at how it all works.

Valve’s Steam platform has sure come a long way since its release nearly ten years ago, and in recent years, the company’s shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, it seems that Valve isn’t content with just being the dominant gaming service for the PC: it wants even more growth, and would love nothing more than to convince console gamers that the PC is where it’s at.

To accomplish this, the company has unveiled a slew of features since 2010 that aim to lure more people in, and make those already in open their wallets further. For starters, there’s Mac OS X and Linux support. Then there’s the Market, Greenlight, Workshop (modding), Software, Big Picture Mode (TV use) and… am I missing something? Oh, that’s right: Steam Trading Cards, the topic of this article :slaphead:.

When Valve introduced Steam Trading Cards in May, I wasn’t too sure what to think. Was it just a gimmick? Could it succeed? I had doubts at first, but then I realized it’s Valve we’re talking about. It doesn’t fail at its endeavours all-too-often. Sure enough, Trading Cards are a hit.

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