Valve's new economy initiatives for Team Fortress 2 are off to successful starts, as the new Steam Wallet system has allowed users to invest in user-created content from the Mann Co. Store, earning over $200,000 for its creators in only two weeks.
At the end of September, Valve changed the way Steam customers pay for content while also overhauling Team Fortress 2's micro-transaction system at the same time. The former was done in the form of the Steam Wallet (a payment system that allows Steam users to add any amount to their account) while the latter gave birth to the Mann-conomy, an economonic system that allows players to trade items and purchase the creations of fellow users. The two initiatives have created a windfall for Valve and its customers, earning over $200,000 in the first two weeks.
According to Gamasutra (who spoke with many involved in the new economy), five of the most successful content-creators have earned between $39,000 and $47,000 in royalties. It should be noted that user-created items were just a part of the new Mann-conomy content, meaning that the total gross brought in by the new store over the last two weeks was even higher.
Valve revealed that the microtransaction system currently being used by Team Fortress 2 into the Steamworks toolkit, which will allow third-party developers to allow the same sort of content creation and distribution in their titles. Valve itself is considering applying the framework for the Mann-conomy into its other top franchises.
In-Depth: Team Fortress 2 Community Contributors' Five-Figure Payouts [Gamasura]
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Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Thursday, October 21, 2010