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  Half-Life: Alyx is Now Available

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 03-23-2020, 12:14 PM
  • 1 comment

  Half-Life: Alyx is Now Available

  A new Half-Life game is actually here!
  
  Wow, who could have seen this coming? We finally have a new Half-Life game being released! Valve has just flipped the switch for every VR owner on Steam and Half-Life: Alyx is now released. It's the first Half-Life game released in 13 years. Let that sink in for a little while as Alyx decrypts in the background.
  
  Half-Life: Alyx is available now on Steam for $59.99 (USD). I'm going to do something I don't normally do during the day:...

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  Gabe Newell Talks Epic Games Store, Dislikes the 'Apple Model' of Business

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 03-20-2020, 05:15 PM
  • 0 comments

  Gabe Newell Talks Epic Games Store, Dislikes the 'Apple Model' of Business

  👀
  
  Valve's Gabe Newell hasn't said too much about the new digital retailer on the market, otherwise known as the Epic Games Store. In an upcoming interview with Edge magazine's Alex Spencer (issue 334), Newell opened up about a number of hot button subjects such as Half-Life: Alyx, the future of VR, and how he views "competition" from the Epic Games Store.
  
  Spencer asked Newell whether or not the competition from the Epic Games Store has affected Valve's...

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  Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition Starts March 18

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 03-17-2020, 06:45 PM
  • 0 comments

  Steam Game Festival: Spring Edition Starts March 18

  Get ready for a bunch of pre-release demos.
  
  As they did with the 2019 Game Awards in December, so again will Valve host a special Steam Game Festival. This one begins tomorrow, March 18. There will be over 40 titles featured and include a bunch of games that were unable to be showcased at events like the Indie MEGABOOTH, Day of the Devs, and The MIX during GDC.
  
  The event kicks off at 10AM (PT) on the 18th and ends on March 23 at 10AM (PT). Once the event is live, you will...

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  Steam and CS:GO Break Concurrent User Records Yet Again

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 03-15-2020, 03:46 PM
  • 0 comments

  Steam and CS:GO Break Concurrent User Records Yet Again

  Actually, they broke records twice this weekend.
  
  It seems like Valve isn't a fan of vinyl because they've been busy breaking records left and right this past month. In early February, we brought you word about how Counter-Strike: Global Offensive broke its old concurrent player record twice in the same weekend. Once the dust settled on the whirlwind weekend of February 8-9, 2020, the top number saw over 901,000 concurrent players enjoying CS:GO at one time. This had beaten a record...

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  Valve Experimenting with New Steam News Hub

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 03-05-2020, 06:55 PM
  • 1 comment

  Valve Experimenting with New Steam News Hub

  This the the 9th Steam Labs Experiment.
  
  Thus far, the Steam Labs Experiments have already proven to be quite the success for Valve. These experimental features add in or change some level of functionality within Steam. If they prove to be a success among testers, Valve will graduate these experiments to the big time and make them a new feature for everyone on Steam to enjoy.
  
  The latest experiment kicked off today. Steam Labs Experiment 009: The News Hub is now available....

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  Three New Half-Life: Alyx Gameplay Videos Shared by Valve

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 03-02-2020, 04:46 PM
  • 0 comments

  Three New Half-Life: Alyx Gameplay Videos Shared by Valve

  Three videos showcase almost 10 minutes of new gameplay.
  
  Valve is starting to ramp up their Half-Life: Alyx media coverage. Today, the development studio released three brand new gameplay videos for their upcoming VR-only title, Half-Life: Alyx.
  
  These videos show off a variety of environments and gameplay mechanics. In addition, it also shows off the different ways in which players will be able to move around the environments in their virtual play areas.
  
  The...

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  On Site Attendance Forbidden at IEM Katowice Due to Coronavirus Fears

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-28-2020, 01:12 PM
  • 0 comments

  On Site Attendance Forbidden at IEM Katowice Due to Coronavirus Fears

  Viewing is limited to online only.
  
  While the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice event is still to continue as scheduled, nobody will be allowed to watch the action in person. This almost literal eleventh hour change of plans came directly from an order issued by Polish authorities. This is all being done as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus (COVID-19).
  
  In short: Find something else to do with your time. Those running the event say that they are currently...

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  Valve is Seeking Out a New City for The International Dota 2 Championships in 2021

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-26-2020, 03:22 PM
  • 0 comments

  Valve is Seeking Out a New City for The International Dota 2 Championships in 2021

  Do you run a city? Inquire within.
  
  Valve is already on the hunt for cities that want to host the 11th Annual International Dota 2 Championships, or "The International" for short. The International will be held in the Summer of 2021. The first event was held in Cologne, Germany in the far off time of August 2011. Though already exceptionally popular right from the get-go, The International has only grown in scale in each of the following years.
  
  The International...

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  Valve Adds New Functionality to Steam Search Today

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-25-2020, 06:41 PM
  • 0 comments

  Valve Adds New Functionality to Steam Search Today

  Another Steam Labs test makes it to the big time.
  
  There is another Steam Labs success story to share with you all today. Experiment 004, simply entitled "Search," is now a part of normal Steam functionality. This experiment added a host of features to the existing Search function on Steam, which thus led to better and more relevant results to individuals that used it.
  
  Today's new search features include the ability to narrow results by price and special offers....

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  Underlords: Season One Begins

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-25-2020, 06:15 PM
  • 0 comments

  Underlords: Season One Begins

  Dota Underlords leaves Early Access.
  
  Valve just freed Dota Underlords from its Early Access limbo today. Today's release also marks the beginning of Season One for the game. The launch also includes "a ton of content to explore, rewards to earn, a hero/Alliance/item shakeup and more." Let's see a bit more about what today's release means for Dota Underlords.
  
  Let's start with the fact that Dota Underlords is a free to play game. Yes, there are optional purchases...

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  These Are the Top Steam Releases for January 2020

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-18-2020, 03:28 PM
  • 0 comments

  These Are the Top Steam Releases for January 2020

  Plus a look at the top games of January 2010.
  
  Valve is once again offering fans a look at the best new releases on Steam for the preceding month. That month is, you guessed it, the month of January 2020. Once again, Valve has limited the list of "top releases" for the month to those games that were actually released in January 2020.
  
  Before we take a look at those games, Valve included a special bonus treat for us. The studio dove deep into their archives to show...

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  Official Half-Life: Alyx Release Date Announced

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-13-2020, 06:44 PM
  • 0 comments

  Official Half-Life: Alyx Release Date Announced

  Valve has announced a solid release date.
  
  Ever since Valve announced Half-Life: Alyx back in November 2019, they maintained that the game would be out at some point in March 2020. That fairly vague release window did not sway over the past four months now, which was either very reassuring that Valve Time wouldn't kick in, or anxiety inducing because you just wanted the delay announcement to come. OH GOD JUST GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY!
  
  Thankfully, that delay announcement...

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  Over 40,000 Accounts Banned from DOTA 2

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-12-2020, 07:28 PM
  • 0 comments

  Over 40,000 Accounts Banned from DOTA 2

  Bans served to accounts found abusing matchmaking.
  
  On Tuesday, February 11, the official DOTA 2 Twitter account revealed that Valve banned over 40,000 accounts from the popular MOBA. The studio says that the bans were handed out to accounts that were "found abusing matchmaking."
  
  Details on what this means were not shared publicly. However, it could be inferred by what was meant by "abusing matchmaking." This could be anything from buying accounts that...

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  Valve Reintroduces Steam Soundtracks with a New Sale and Features

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-11-2020, 02:47 PM
  • 0 comments

  Valve Reintroduces Steam Soundtracks with a New Sale and Features

  NOW that's what I call music!
  
  Valve is bringing back Steam Soundtracks in a big way today. More accurately: Valve already brought back Steam Soundtracks a little while ago is being improved big time today. The Soundtrack section that some of you knew and perhaps even love already made its return as a dedicated category in the Steam Library. To further push this Soundtrack section, Valve is bolstering it today with some improved functionality.
  
  On top of that, there is a...

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  Counter-Strike Broke Peak Player Records Twice this Weekend

  • Created by: Shawn Zipay
  • Published: 02-10-2020, 07:25 PM
  • 0 comments

  Counter-Strike Broke Peak Player Records Twice this Weekend

  CS:GO surges as DOTA 2 flounders.
  
  This past weekend was a real banner couple of days for Counter-Strike players and fans. Not only did Counter-Strike: Global Offensive surpass its all-time concurrent player count, but it did so twice!
  
  On Saturday, CS:GO had surpassed 888,000 people playing the game at once. This all-time high bested a near 7-year long record. The old all-time high came on August 21, 2012 when CS:GO had topped out at over 854,000 players.
  
  That's...

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