Steam trading cards are now available for select games

Written by Brandon Hofer on June 26, 2013

Steam Trading Cards News: Earn Steam trading cards now by playing select games to earn rewards that you can either use or potentially trade away.

Steam trading cards are now available according to Valve. Expanding out of beta today, Steam Trading Cards will allow gamers to earn Steam rewards for playing the games they love. Those who participate will receive game-specific trading cards that can be collected to earn rewards such as game badges, profile backgrounds, emoticons, coupons and more.

Steam trading cards are virtual cards earned by playing games on Steam. Once you get a set of cards you can turn them into game badges and tradable Steam community items. In order to collect these cards you have to be playing one of the titles listed below. Up to half the card set is dropped through game play, the other half is earned through your collecting prowess. These are the games that currently support Steam trading cards:

Company of Heroes 2

Borderlands 2

Sanctum 2

Don’t Starve

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Left 4 Dead 2

Portal 2

Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine

Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten

Half-Life 2

Team Fortress 2

Strike Suit Infinity

BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

Zack Zero

Brutal Legend

Cubemen 2

FTL: Faster Than Light

Super Meat Boy

Monster Loves You!

Anodyne

Trine 2: Complete Story

Go Home Dinosaurs!

Zombie Driver HD

Triple Town

Magicka

Tower Wars

Serious Sam 3: BFE

They Bleed Pixels

Jagged Alliance - Back In Action

Blocks That Matter

Really Big Sky

Faerie Solitaire

A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda

Dota 2

1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby)

Once you have collected a set of cards you can craft them into a game badge. Like current badges, they are tied to your account and are shown on your profile. Unlike the current badges, crafting game badges earns you marketable items like emoticons, profile backgrounds, and coupons. Level up your badge by collecting the set again and earning more items. All badges now have XP which contributes to your Steam level, a summary of your badge collection. You can view someone else’s Steam level by hovering over their avatar. Leveling up earns you non-tradable items like profile showcases, extra friends list slots and more.

You will be able to show off your badges, Steam Level, and gameplay with the new profile and mini profile. The profile itself gets a visual refresh and a more concentrated focus on what you play and how you participate on Steam. Gameplay, achievements and content contributions all get rolled up into blocks in recent game activity. Your friends can check out what you’re playing and how you’ve fared at a glance.

What do you think about these new Steam systems? Will you participate in the trading cards system? Let us know below.