Wear a Scribblenauts Hat in Team Fortress 2

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive and Valve announced a collaboration in conjunction with the upcoming launch of Scribblenauts Unlimited. Gamers that pre-order Scribblenauts Unlimited through Steam will receive a free digital Rooster Hat immediately following the purchase of $29.99.

The Rooster Hat, worn by Maxwell himself, comes in both red and pink -- the pink hat is worn by Maxwell's sister Lily.

Scribblenauts Unlimited launches on November 20th for PC, 3DS, and the Wii U. Stay tuned to IGN for a complete review in the coming weeks.

Ryan Clements writes for IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Steam for Linux Beta Announced

Valve has announced that a beta for Steam on Linux will begin in October. According to a blog post on Valve’s site, internal beta testing will begin next week, followed by a private external beta for 1,000 users later in October.

The private beta will include Steam and one Valve game and will support Ubuntu 12.04 and above. It will not yet include Big Picture Mode or additional Valve games. “For existing Linux users, the external private beta is a good release for seeing where we are in running our games on Linux,” the post notes. “We will be using a sign up page for the external beta. Information about the sign up will be announced in a future post.”

For users that aren’t familiar with Linux, Valve recommends not signing up for the external beta, but instead waiting for a later release “where more features are implemented along with improvements to the user install experience.”

Valve’s Linux team formed last year and is currently made up of 11 people. “Our mission is to investigate open source development with a specific focus on supporting Steam and other Valve products on the Linux platform,” the blog notes. “This includes Linux ports of Steam and Valve games, as well as partner games. We are also investigating open source initiatives that could benefit the community and game developers.” The team is currently hiring additional developers.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Valve Facing Legal Trouble over Steam Agreement

Valve Software could be facing legal trouble in Europe thanks to Steam’s End User License Agreement. The Federation of German Consumer Organization (known as the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. in German, or VZBV) has given Valve until October 10th to respond to a claim that its recently-modified user agreement is unfair to consumers. If Valve doesn’t respond, the group will seek to “resolve the dispute in the court.”

The VZBV believes Valve’s agreement coerces users into accepting, as hitting "cancel" when the agreement pops up prevents users from logging into their accounts. The group believes this leads to "disadvantaged" Steam users and that Valve should uphold a recent ruling by the EU Court of Justice that users should be able to resell digital software.

Recently, Valve has been in the news for its Big Picture Mode beta, sweeping changes to Steam’s community and launch of Steam Greenlight. Last week, reports of Valve’s hardware plans continued circulating, including the fact that its first hardware beta could come as soon as next year.

We’ve reached out to Valve for comment about the Federation of German Consumer Organization’s claims and will update with any statement we receive.

Source: CinemaBlend

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Report: EA Sought to Acquire Valve

Electronic Arts was apparently prepared to pay up to $1 billion in order to acquire Valve, according to a new report.

The New York Times claims to have seen a report which lists the various opportunities Gabe Newell has had to sell the company in the past.

"Valve has been pursued over the years by Electronic Arts, which would very likely have valued Valve at well over $1 billion had the talks progressed that far," it explains.

The article goes on to say the claims come courtesy of "two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private".

Why said talks broke down isn't clear, especially given that EA's COO Peter Moore recently voiced his support for the company, describing them as being "on the cutting edge of the future of this industry". It may have something to do with Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, who has apparently long been convinced that the company would "disintegrate" if it was ever bought by another company.

"It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, ‘Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate,’ he said.

Had the deal gone through, EA would have gotten quite the bargain; Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates that Valve would today be valued at around $2.5 billion, mainly thanks to its Steam digital distribution service. The company is also believed to make far more money from Steam than it does from actual sales of its own games.

This number only looks set to go up, especially with the recent news that the company will be "jumping in" to hardware development.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Valve Confirms Hardware Development

A job listing on Valve’s site confirms that the company will begin developing hardware. A listing for an industrial designer says “Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we’re jumping in.”

The post continues, adding that Valve is interested in creating new user experiences. “Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years,” it says. “There’s a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.”

The post specifies that the position will add “expertise in product design and manufacturing, ergonomics, usability, aesthetics, and surfacing.” Candidates are also expected to have “6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products” and “a thorough understanding of product design principles.”

Speculation about Valve’s entry into the hardware market has been flying since March, when rumors suggested Valve was working on a Steam Box console. Valve later debunked the rumors, commenting that the world is “a long way from Valve shipping out any sort of hardware.” Later, a listing for an electronics engineer to work on "platform hardware" emerged, as well as a blog post discussing wearable computing.

We’ve reached out to Valve for comment about the job listing and will update with any additional information we receive.

Thanks to CVG for the heads up.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dota 2 One Million Dollar Tournament Begins

Valve has kicked off its 2012 Dota 2 tournament The International, where teams of highly skilled Dota players will compete for a one million dollar grand prize. If you're interested in watching the tournament as it runs between August 31 and September 2, it can be viewed for free online or though a dedicated client on Valve's Steam digital distribution platform.

Dota 2 has been in beta testing for quite some time and routinely ranks as the most popular game on Steam. Whenever it's ready to officially launch, it will be free to play and have the entire roster of heroes unlocked. A microtransaction system, which is currently live in the beta, will allow players to purchase cosmetic upgrades for things like heroes and item couriers.

Valve also just released Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, an update of its long-running competitive shooter franchise, which was recently reviewed on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Steam Updates Groups, Enhances Content Management

Valve has announced more new updates to the Steam Community, making changes to group pages as well as how users manager their uploaded content. Valve says that over 2.5 million groups have been created, and their pages will now receive an entirely new layout, adding a group overview, friend showcase and new group discussions.

Discussions can be public or private and users will have “complete moderator control” over their own groups, including the ability to create sub-forums, add moderators and delete posts. Groups can also list their favorite games and a default language can be set.

Valve has also added a new way to keep track of screenshots, replays, videos linked from YouTube, workshop Items and Workshops on your profile page. All content will be available for users to display or manage, with an image wall that will offer multiple ways to view your uploaded screenshots. Players will also be able to favorite screenshots in order to find them later or share them with friends.

Today is the third day of a week’s worth of Community updates that Valve is rolling out this week. The first update came on Monday with the introduction of Game Hubs. For more details about all of the new features, check out the Steam Community’s official site.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sleeping Dogs Items Come to Team Fortress 2

Valve has announced a Sleeping Dogs crossover for Team Fortress 2. Players who pre-purchase Sleeping Dogs on Steam before August 14th will receive eight new items for free. A new King of the Hill map called Kong King is also listed as “coming soon.”

The Sleeping Dogs items include new weapons and clothing, as well as a “Red-Tape Recorder” that reverses enemy construction. A full list of the Sleeping Dogs items is available at the official Team Fortress site.

Sleeping Dogs will hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on August 14th. This marks the game’s second crossover, following < http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/25/sleeping-dogs-offers-bonus-to-just-cause-2-players target=_blank>a special bonus for Just Cause 2 playersannounced last week.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Valve Adds Three More Dota 2 Heroes

Another three heroes have been added to the roster in the closed beta test for Valve’s Dota 2. Though it hasn’t yet officially launched, Dota 2 is routinely the most popular game on Steam, beating out Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike and Football Manager 2012 in terms of concurrent and peak players.

The added heroes include Keeper of the Light, a ranged pusher, Nyx Assassin, a melee disabler and nuker, and Visage, a ranged support hero.

As noted on the blog, updates will slow down from now until The International competitive tournament, scheduled to take place August 31 through September 2 in Seattle. “With The International arriving in just over a month, we want to give the competing teams some time to practice with a stable Hero roster, and as few new bugs from us as possible. With that in mind, after today’s update we’ll be clamping things down a tad, focusing on getting the existing feature and hero set polished to a high sheen. Fear not, we will continue to work on new heroes internally, getting them ready for a release once The International is over.”

Though Dota 2 does not have a set release date, invites can be purchased and traded within Steam for $30.

Source : ign[dot]com

Left 4 Dead/PayDay: The Heist Crossover Now Available

Mercy Hospital, the collaboration between Valve and Overkill, is now available as a free update to PayDay: The Heist on Steam. Set in Left 4 Dead’s Mercy Hospital, the update offers a new heist and a new theme inspired by the zombies of Left 4 Dead.

Players who have Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 in their Steam library and have the game installed will receive new zombie masks to use during the heist, and Overkill notes that “some extra candy” is hidden in the new heist “for those who just can't help ending up in the hospital.” Mercy Hospital can be played using the new Overkill +145 difficulty, which Overkill promises “will leave you gasping for air.”

Valve and Overkill first announced a collaboration back in May, which was described as “a very cool blend of PayDay and Left 4 Dead.” The project was also described as “an in-depth collaboration.”

A teaser trailer for Mercy Hospital (referred to under the name “No Mercy”) surfaced on YouTube last month, giving us our first look at the collaboration. At the time, Overkill confirmed that a Left 4 Dead character makes a cameo in Mercy Hospital, but the content “is not meant to be a substantial extension of the Left 4 Dead fiction.”

Overkill handled all development of Mercy Hospital, which involves a heist searching for a particular patient’s blood.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Left 4 Dead 2: Cold Stream DLC Delayed for Xbox

The Xbox 360 version of Cold Stream, the latest piece of downloadable content for Valve Corporation's popular 2009 co-op shooter Left 4 Dead 2, has missed its July 24 release date. "We are working with MS on a release schedule," Valve wrote on their official Left 4 Dead Developer Twitter feed. "We don't have an ETA yet but we hope to have it out soon. It will be 560 [Microsoft Points, or $7]." Later, they added, "We have no news on an [ETA] yet."

The DLC should be a welcome one for Left 4 Dead fans, as it contains not only the brand-new Cold Stream campaign, but also imports four of the five campaigns from the original game as well: Blood Harvest, Crash Course, Dead Air, and Death Toll (the fifth, No Mercy, was previously brought to L4D2 via The Sacrifice DLC -- see the video below).

The PC version is available now on Steam for free.

Ryan McCaffrey is the Executive Editor at IGN Xbox. He used to own a DeLorean, which is weird. Follow him on Twitter, on IGN, catch him on Podcast Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Source : ign[dot]com