Team Fortress 2 (TF2) was Valve’s chosen franchise to spearhead their “cosmetic item market” approach to revenue. The market concept itself wasn’t new, but Valve’s execution of the idea is what really drove the game’s success.
In short, cosmetic items make you look different. Some items look cooler than others. Some items are so cool that players are willing to pay money to acquire them. Therefore, by engaging in item trading. you can exchange your goods with another player for real dollars. This is all permitted, even encouraged, by Valve.
But there’s more. Earlier this year, Valve disclosed that over 90% of the items in TF2 were actually created by players. Thanks to the Item Workshop. users can submit models and textures to be voted on by the community. Those that succeed are sold in the TF2 store and the creators receive a cut of the profits.
Item trading and workshop creation both also exist in Valve’s other free-to-play game, Dota 2 What Is Dota 2 Why Should You Care? What Is Dota 2 Why Should You Care? In the world of games, Valve Corporation has recently grown into one of the largest and most consistent game publishers (with the skyrocketing success of their Steam distribution network) and game developers (with the international. Read More.
