r/Steam • u/MajinPoop • 1d ago
Question What happened to these? They used to be free
I was always excited about these when they were free, but now these fests dont feel like a celebration anymore.
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u/Atitkos 1d ago
Inflation
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u/OminousG https://steam.pm/79oog 1d ago edited 1d ago
First they took away the free trading cards, now they took away the free pointshop items?
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u/Boustifaille 1d ago
Wait, what? When did they take the free trading cards away:/?
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u/OminousG https://steam.pm/79oog 1d ago
I'm referring to the cards they would give out during major sales. You used to get a card a day for browsing your discovery queue, then they took away the cards and gave us stickers or a few pointshop items.
Now...theres nothing.
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u/noneye2cool 1d ago
I also havent seen a trading card from most games i play for about a year or so maybe longer? Unless i spend a certain amount on the game. I think singleplayer games do still give free cards though? But i dont think online ones or ones that have transactions in them do
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u/JojolionNES 1d ago
You get them based on how long you play the game from what I can tell and if the game supports them. I don't think steam fully decides whether or a game has cards or not...think a big part of the decision comes on the part of the publisher/developers. Recently think Digimon got rid of their trading cards due to licensing or something like that.
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u/Pokinator 1d ago
Additionally when a game *does* have trading cards, you don't get them infinitely.
I've been using steam for over a decade and for as long as I can remember, you get about half of the set for free. The general idea seemed to be that you're supposed to sell the cards from games you don't care about to fund buying the cards you do care about.
Once upon a time you could also randomly get Booster Packs, but IIRC I only had it happen like twice. You could also convert cards to gems to craft packs, but that's essentially the offline version of selling cards to buy others.
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u/Chrisctrlgaming 13h ago
The boosters still exist, I had one in the past few months, pretty sure the gems still exist too?? (I've not checked recently, but sure it was unless I'm remembering incorrectly)
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u/noneye2cool 1d ago
Atleast in Cs2 you have to pay for the cards. Legit says smthn bout amount of money til next card? I dont fully remember i just know it said smthn bout money for the cards
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u/Zuryan_9100 1d ago
You get half of a game's cards for playtime. If it's free to play, like CS2, you get them after spending a certain ammount of money in game. Then there's booster packs. IIRC if the community spends cards on badges, they would eventually run out. So for x ammount of badges crafted, there's y ammount of booster packs randomly distributed to everyone who already has their card drops. You can raise your chances with your Steam level.
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u/noneye2cool 1d ago
I feel like since i paid for prime status its no longer a F2P game and i should get my fucking cards
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u/dark_fesse 1d ago
you bought a dlc for your free game lol it doesn't make it a paid game
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u/noneye2cool 1d ago
Whatever. Fuck valve they've become greedy POS. Im honestly likely to move to gog
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u/Emc2Cookie 1d ago
And you are the actual problem... you know those were not mandatory to redeem, right? Now, because of people like you complaing for no reason, the ones that loved the free items don't get to enjoy them anymore. You could have just not take them, not complain about this and we still would have had the free items.
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u/liquid_sandwich 1d ago
"Now because of people like you we don't get useless free shit that virtually nobody needs" is such a strange complaint.
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u/KenpoJuJitsu3 https://s.team/p/dgpk-pjm 1d ago
Arguing on the basis of what people need in a recreational hobby is even stranger.
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u/liquid_sandwich 1d ago edited 1d ago
You're right, as nobody needs anything for a hobby. Being upset over the lack of digital drawer fillers still isn't any less ridiculous
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u/COPPERSRUN 1d ago
Just dont claim them.. also they really don't clutter the inventory much especially when you can just filter them lmao
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u/I_love_memes00 1d ago
they dont even make sale events anymore. I wish they did stuff like garage sales, grand prix etc...
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u/thelegendofjonnii 1d ago
I miss trading cards being more common. They're dumb, but I like collecting them
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u/BranTheLewd 1d ago
Trading cards should've been a reward for achievement hunting. But alas, they got turned into money sink
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u/JojolionNES 1d ago
Are they not still common? They work like how I remember them working in the past and a lot of games still offer em. You play for a bit, you I get a set amount of randomized cards, then if you want to finish the set, you'd buy the rest of the cards. I'm confused.
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u/thelegendofjonnii 1d ago
They offered them a lot during various sales too, but not as much now, if at all. Now it's just the stuff that costs points.
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u/Kantrh 1d ago
Valve used to give out 3 free event trading cards a day on the major sales for going through your discovery queue, then they dropped it to one. Now they don't give out any
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u/m3mys3lfn1 13h ago
Apparently people abuse those to make money. This is why they added a minimum Steam level to get the free cards before dropping them completely.
Kind of a pity because I rarely want to spend enough money during a sale to get the seasonal badge.
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u/Glass-Vermicelli9862 1d ago
I wish they let us use the the steam points for discounts or gift cards. I only used it twice and thats it. I know have crap tone that I just dont use
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u/Sullimen https://s.team/p/djgp-nrv 1d ago
People could farm steam points in the past via rage bait posts on the forums to get engagement and clown awards. Similarly there used to be people buying steam points with TF2 keys, there might still probably be some steamtrades posts out there. Even if they would add something like that now that you can't get points from awards, the millions of points from each person that farmed them in the past aren't gone, and they would likely afford tons of free gift cards or discounts for years.
For every fun feature steam adds, be sure it's going to be exploited and squeezed to its last drop. I do agree that more features for steam points should be added, though probably something not as consequential.
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u/Kakariki73 1d ago
Yes, like those old skool supermarket stamps, when the booklet was full you got 2 quid off on your groceries at the cashier.
They could do something similar with those steam points aswell
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u/RagnarRipper 1d ago
Spend them on seasonal badges and ways to level up your steam profile, that way you may get more frequent drops for card packs which in turn can be sold for (not a lot but...) money in the trading shop. It's really not that much but I reckon I've been able to buy at least a hand full of games when they were very deeply discounted.
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u/Cyanogen101 In-Game: Honkai Star Rail 22h ago
Not having some kind of monetary value is very good imo
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u/rspy24 1d ago
I mean.. Brother.. we have a "sale fest" literally every week..
Also most of the sales are not even made by valve anymore.
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u/CuttingBoard9124 1d ago
Remember horsefest? I'll be honest I got a little worried when I read that but the games seemed kinda silly and there was a lot of streamer bait.
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u/STYoursTruly 1d ago
I have almost 300k in points, there's no way I'm spending them down at this point
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u/Gavinpetz 1d ago
i was the same and now i’m level 70 cause i just bought the highest level seasonal badge every event for 100k or whatever it is
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u/biznatch112 1d ago
I miss the flash sales. But some stupid government got mad about it now we dont get them
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u/Quick_Philosophy1426 1d ago
they're steam points not money lmao
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u/mondi311 1d ago
but how do you get steam points? curious
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u/Quick_Philosophy1426 1d ago
if you're buying things on Steam for the purpose of getting Steam points you should not be in control of your own finances
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u/Mugtoaster 1d ago edited 1d ago
He was asking how do you get Steam points not saying he spends money just to get them.
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u/Brettersson 1d ago
Yeah but it was a dumb question because these things you buy with fake money have zero use or value, so anyone acting like they have to spend money to get them is just comically irresponsible with their money.
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u/Mugtoaster 1d ago edited 1d ago
Again he was asking how do you get Steam points not asking should he blow money on games for Steam points.
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u/Wide-Difficulty8022 1d ago
People can't read nowadays lmao
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u/Brettersson 10h ago
You really read their response to someone saying steam points aren't money and you actually think they were honestly asking how you get them? Within both the context of the comment they were replying to and the content of the post itself, you think I'm the one struggling with reading comprehension?
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u/Wide-Difficulty8022 9h ago
I'll correct my statement: "People love stuffing their noses in other people's business and jumping to conclusions". Why did you think he was going to start splurging on steam for that nonsense? Even if he does it's his decision what he does with his money. Is it stupid, yes. Is it none of our business, also yes.
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u/Brettersson 10h ago
And they asked it in response to a statement about them not being real money, you think they were honestly wondering how you get the points? They were backhandedly trying to equate steam points to real money.
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u/Mugtoaster 1d ago edited 1d ago
Buying any game, hardware, ect gets you a certain amount of Steam points. Say you buy a $5 game you'll get 500 Steam points from that purchase, if you refund that game it'll take back the Steam points and if you spent those points it'll take the item(s) back too.
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u/Jaconian 1d ago
You get points any time you buy nearly anything on Steam.
Buy a game, you get Steam Points.
Buy a game for someone else, you get Steam Points.
Buy Steam-related hardware (Steam Deck, Steam Frame, etc.) through Steam, you get Steam Points.I don't know if you get them when you make purchases on the community marketplace.
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u/CarbonaraNightmare 22h ago
Well it isnt like people don't havw a surplus of points so I suppose it helps with that?
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u/WhoaTeejaay 13h ago
I was gonna say, im over here with 500,000 points. Lmao. Steam really needs to make a program where we can apply those points to purchases....
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u/Organic_Smile_8731 7h ago
Yeah, I mean I literally have 400,000 points. Like at least let me use them for the trading cards or to level up my account, like there is genuinely no reason to sink points into stickers, and I only use the same keyboard and opening movie for the steam deck. The only kinda cool think left to really get is like an account frame and picture, but even then I already got the detective one and I kinda plan to keep that one forever
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u/Mastbubbles_conner 1d ago
Guess Gaben needs more of our cash, huh?
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u/Brandonix26 1d ago
I bought all that shit accidentally the first time they stopped being free and they refused to refund me lol it was muscle memory but I get it, had to try tho.
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u/thecosmoschilde 1d ago
They still give away some of these at times when you go through your discovery queue
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u/AndrewDaPro 1d ago
The tests arent steam hosted anymore. The hosters stopped making them free outside of the odd queue stickeres
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u/ElderberryThat8073 1h ago
I wish I had a good sink for my points. I have almost everything from the points shop I want.
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u/International-Sky556 1h ago
God are you ppl buying everything regardless if you play or not I have 67k with 69 games most of which were freebies I play maybe 20 of them
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u/MadeByTango 1d ago
They always start things free, then find ways to exploit them once an audience builds an affinity for them. Exactly like drug dealers.
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u/JojolionNES 1d ago
Always felt like a side thing that didn't have a ton of thought put into. I never saw cards (collecting/trading) worth the time or effort. Think some of the stuff you can get by getting cards you can just use points to get or find other easy ways to obtain. I'm hoping on steam to play the games I purchased not really focused on getting digital cards that I can't do anything with besides collect and display.
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u/Benobot99 17h ago
You can sell your cards on the community market to earn a tiny bit of cash for your Steam Wallet. It's usually about 8 cents Canadian per card, but if it's a rare card like a holo/foil then you can get a few dollars. Also if you make a full set, you can make badges for your profile, which increase your Steam level.
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u/Memes_kids 1d ago
kind of a silly point considering i dont know anyone whos buying things just for the points shop stuff
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u/WritingOneHanded 1d ago
Also because drug dealers don't give away product.
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u/Memes_kids 1d ago
yeah. i get shit tons of free steam points by just ragebaiting idiots on DbD. Jester awards are 300 free points and I can always just hide the awards
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u/CountyGoneCity 21h ago
You have obviously never worked closely with drug dealers. If they have something new or unknown, they will absolutely let fast hands slide some to others for testing. No dealer wants to offer a poor product and get a bad rap for it.
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u/WritingOneHanded 3h ago
I was the dealer. We tested it ourselves with our personal friends. Maybe I'd test it with you if you were a regular customer. We never went to the playground to hand out free samples of stuff I paid for.
No dealer ever asks people if they want to try a new drug... they don't have to. Drugs are a product that markets itself.
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u/DaskielWinterwing 1d ago
On the big sales, like summer, autumn etc, you get free emoji for doing the discovery queue.
On the smaller ones, you can only buy seasonal things
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u/TheOtaVutta 1d ago
I mean steam points rack up like crazy, I have 300k easy
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u/SatoTenkai 1d ago
we are not all rich for buy everytime games on steam
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u/DiscoJer 1d ago
I am about as poor as you can get, I work at Walmart, almost never buy games at full price (maybe twice a year), and I have like 100,000
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u/Yumeko_Boi 1d ago
You are rich sir. Where I am the games are priced in euro (a lil bit more expensive than yours) and the wages are 5$/hour.
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u/JojolionNES 1d ago
Just because things cost more where you live means the other person must be rich?
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u/Yumeko_Boi 1d ago
Well, if I make less and I pay more that means this person has a much higher buying power than me. That makes him rich compared to me. I wasn’t comparing him to an average Joe in his area.
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u/JojolionNES 1d ago
The word rich doesn't really mean too much if you are basing the qualification on having slightly higher income and/or having access to slightly cheaper goods. Pretty much can call someone rich if they're making 5 cents more that you at that point, kinda devaluing the word. Personally, think it's insulting/rude saying that to someone just because they make a dollar or 2 more than you, but hey I'm not that guy.
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u/Yumeko_Boi 1d ago
You can get a full meal of burger and fries with refillable soda for 8$ here tho
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u/Hargrove194 1d ago
Yeee that same thing is 25-35$ here
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u/RedGecko18 1d ago
Dear Lord where are you paying 25 bucks for a burger and fries?
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u/Hargrove194 1d ago
Murica
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u/RedGecko18 1d ago
Yeah I also live in Murica. Ain't nowhere near me that charges 25 bucks for a burger and fries. Thats crazy.
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u/acenextdoor 1d ago
A typical meal at a burger joint like five guys (single burger, regular fries, & drink) can cost between $18-$25. So, not necessarily as bad as buddy was saying, however, still fairly expensive.
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u/JojolionNES 1d ago
Most of the points people get, don't get spent. There's not a lot of things you'd want to spend the points on. Most of the people have tons just have them sitting from prior purchases, big or small. Don't think calling the guy "rich" was necessary.
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u/TheOtaVutta 1d ago
My account age is like 13-15 after year after year sales you gather a few things
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u/AbsoluteSpaz12 1d ago
I don't every single game, I buy only indie games and I have 100k+. Its you, brokie.
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u/Available_Stable_134 1d ago
The idea of steam points is the dumbest and arguably useless currency ever. No one cares about your banner and back ground. If I get those for buying a game …..LET ME BUY A FUCKING GAME WITH THEM
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u/jchearts 1d ago
Steam is already so laid back with giving us deals all the time, it’s a fun little addition to purchases 😭😭 chill dude
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u/Every-Ad651 1d ago
Greedy-ass Valve is so desperate to squeeze every last cent out of people. God forbid someone gets a free profile customization, or - oh, the horror! - gets a trading card for free and sells it on the market.
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u/OminousG https://steam.pm/79oog 1d ago
valve would get a cut of that market sale too, but I guess thats not enough for them.
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u/DavePlays10 1d ago
I miss when you could redeem points for steam money
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u/TheLastOfGus 1d ago
When was that? Are you not thinking of the 2019 sale where sale event tokens could be redeemed for $5 discount coupons? Steam points came in some years after that and have never been redeemable for money/coupons afaik.
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u/_HELL0_KITTY_ 1d ago
If at least the points could be used on the hardware, like the Deck, Machine, Controller…
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u/StrongZeroSinger 1d ago
They probably saw the 200 post a month of people complaining not having any idea what to spend their Steam points on and decided it was time to offer more point sinks