Steam Items Released For All Games

Just so long as the developer that runs the game you love best is all about the Steam Economy of virtual items, you'll be able to attain the lot sooner than later. Today Valve has released the Steam Inventory Service for all games, ready for Steamworks Developers whenever they feel like they want to get started. Of course there's some work to be done to implement this service, and it won't be done overnight – but it is there, and the hats are coming!

Again – you're not going to see items popping up for your favorite games right out the gate. This isn't the sort of thing where you get to jam on hats for Saints Row 5 seconds after the door opens.

Instead, this is just the beginning for all developers. You'll just have to wait your turn.

As Valve suggests, "This new service adds to the list of APIs available for free to Steamworks developers, including achievements, cloud saves, authentication services, error reporting, leaderboards, matchmaking, Steam Workshop, peer-to-peer networking, in-game overlay, downloadable content, and much more."

Once the items do start arriving, the Steam Economy is going to explode. You might want to drop what you're doing once your favorite game fires up, and start up with the accomplishments. Somebody's gonna get rich.

Virtually, of course.

Oh wait no, that's real. Valve has payed over $57 million dollars to creators of in-game items sold in Team Fortress 2, DOTA 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive so far.

Virtual items, real cash. Make with the creativity.