Valve is trying out something new with the launch of the Steam Trading beta for its popular digital delivery service. Participating users can trade select in-game items and full games with one another as long as the trade is approved by both parties.
The beta is open to all Steam users and easy enough to access; simply open the desktop client and go into the Settings menu. The Account tab contains a section for "Beta Participation," which you can access to get yourself squared for Steam Trading.
Once you're signed up, head to the client's Community section and click "View Inventory" on the right side of the page, under the Actions tab. Team Fortress 2 is the only game that allows for the trading of in-game items at this point, but it appears you can also trade any "Gift" game you've received. Expect more titles to be added too as the beta progresses.
Source: Gamasutra
Comments
Displaying 1–14 of 14
Not_Matlock
There are people that have made quite a bit of money buying and selling hats in TF2. Previously all trades that didn't go through TF2's item system was honor based and a lot of people were getting ripped off if they tried to trade money or games for hats.
This solves the practice of trading games for hats, but now they just need to integrate the Steam Wallet into this as well and people will finally know that the $1,500 they are paying for an unusual hat will be legit. (yes, that is $1,5000. I know, it sounds stupid, but people can make money out of anything.)
catrachohn
where r the guys that said that only physical copies could get sold? valve just BURNED your asses!
DaltonEnrique12185646
DaltonEnrique12185646's comment is abusive and has been removed.
stageNinja
I see this as being a great thing. I mean with a physical copy of the game I can loan it to a friend to try out. I always was kinda disappointed no one did this with digital media. I know Stardock talked about it for a while but never did anything. If Valve can workout all the legal stuff to keep this free it will really make digital copies that much more desirable, also a bit more scary if your account ever gets hacked.
Atavax
its awesome. Now to convince friends to buy a certain game i can have them try out my copy of the game for a day or two, and if they like it, they can gift it back and buy their own copy...
steelbox
I don't think this will fly, it sounds like a second hand market for digital products if full games can be traded like that. Will be good though, someone has to have to initiative.
dolphers
I can see this growing into a great idea! I actually thought about this not even a couple weeks ago, wondering why we couldn't possibly gift current games to remove them off our library, or trade games with others. This looks like a step in that direction! As always, Steam never fails to impress!
ZombieChocobo
So, can I trade in, say, Blood Bowl for another game? O.o
Bigburito
this...is...awesome! :D
just think, you happen to find an unusually rare hat in TF2 (yes there are really rare hats that people pine over) you could trade that hat for a whole game if you find the right buyer! you could get games by playing games! it's an infinite loop! O.o
cardinalsfan1122
The sharing games is nice but in-game gifts i really dont care about.
Blue_Vortex
I'm a bit not sure about this idea, I feel like it's begging for hackers to compromise accounts. Then again this could possibly lead up to being able to share digital games with others, one of the biggest complaints of digital.
Mashpotaters
This sounds like a really great idea. Eliminating one of the drawbacks of buying digital.
mrsappho
Awesome... I also wish Valve would let you gift games, that you purchased already. I have a lot of games that I don't play anymore, and it would be nice to have the option to gift it to a friend.
UnJakeable
This is really cool as long as it's free. I usually sell off my pc games on Goozex
Displaying 1–14 of 14
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