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Valve updates Steam with the Steam Points Shop

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Valve is adding the Steam Points Shop to its digital store for players to redeem numerous items for players to customize their “Steam presence.”

Steam users earn “100 points for every $1” by purchasing “any game, DLC, hardware, application, soundtrack, or in-game item,” according to Steam’s guide. Users can use points to customize their Steam profiles with animated avatars, frames, backgrounds, badges, and chat items. Points do not expire and items cannot be traded with others.

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The Points Shop currently offers awards such as the Debut Collection, with four animated avatars, four animated frames, 15 profile backgrounds, 11 mini-profile backgrounds, and six emoticons. Users can purchase each avatar, frame, background, and emoticon individually at anywhere from 100 to 3,000 points.

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The Summer Golden Profile costs 5,000 points and gives players a “frame, background, and custom color theme,” which are all gold.

Users can also redeem items, including backgrounds and emoticons, based off of their Steam library games.

Finally, the Points Shop also offers Community Awards, which users can redeem to “emphasize reviews and User-Generated Content on Steam with an Award. The Award will appear for all to see and also give the contributor a tip of 100 Points.”

Valve states they plan to “expand the set of things you can use your points on in the future,” which could refer to new Avatar items and backgrounds as well as other Steam content.

Digital Trends reached out to Valve for comment on the Points Shop’s addition, but no response was given at this time.

While the Steam Points Shop is a nice addition, limiting rewards to Steam profile items and community feedback seems like a missed opportunity. The expansion Valve mentions may entail games or DLC on Steam at some point, though this doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.

Given Steam has been around for a while, it is interesting the Points Shop is added now. As of 2019, the digital platform now directly competes with the Epic Games Store, which is used by millions of gamers monthly, so the Points Shop could be Valve’s way of one-upping Epic, though time will tell how the Points Shop evolves.

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Brandon McIntyre
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