‘It’s rotting young people’s brains’: the murky world of gambling in video games
In-game purchases of bonus items have long been available. But now gamers are being lured into casino-style betting to win them
July 2021
Steam Deck: is it the Nintendo Switch for nerds?
Valve’s newly announced handheld console promises to put the latest PC games in your pocket. But do they belong there?
November 2019
Valve reveals VR-exclusive game Half-Life: Alyx
New Half-Life sequel to be VR exclusive
April 2019
State of play: 3 things we learned at 2019's Game Developers Conference
From Steam’s weakening monopoly to the tyranny of sales figures, the same game-changing issues were highlighted by leading figures in an industry teetering on transformation
January 2019
Game over, or not: what became of Steam's first Early Access games?
In 2013, Steam players were first offered the option to pay for unfinished games. We uncover the fate of that first wave of titles – some of which were never released
February 2017
Valve kills Steam Greenlight – here's why it matters
System was intended to prevent stream of low quality software flooding the store but failed to halt explosion in content last year
July 2016
Zero Time Dilemma review – where Saw meets Crystal Maze
Final chapter in intriguing narrative adventure series brings back favourite characters, but fails to go out with a bang
April 2016
Congressman criticised by election commission over $1,300 gaming bill
Duncan Hunter blames bill on purchase from teenage son, followed by unauthorised charges as he tried to undo damage
March 2016
Alone together: my weird morning in a virtual reality chatroom
Mark Zuckerberg says virtual social worlds could be the future. But what’s it actually like in one? Keith Stuart visits AltSpace and finds the experience ... odd
February 2016
What the Steam Controller tells us about the way Valve works
Innovative genius or unusable white elephant, the Steam Controller has attracted plenty of commentary. Valve explains what it really means
October 2015
Steam Machine – is this the future of living room gaming?
Valve’s first PC-based consoles are to launch in November looking to compete with PlayStation and Xbox – here’s how it works
September 2015
Halo and Football Manager developers behind new War Child games project
Studios behind some of the biggest games in the world are set to create games for new compilation marking 20th anniversary of charity’s classic Help album
July 2015
Steam account hijacking 'bug' fixed by Valve
Requesting password recovery email allowed attacker to gain access to gaming accounts without needing password or access to email account
June 2015
E3 2015: will living room PCs and virtual reality shake up the console war?
Smartphones were once the major disruptive force in the games industry, but now Steam Machines and immersive entertainment technologies are set to stir things up again
March 2015
Sid Meier's Starships review – deep-space exploration with a nod to the past
HTC and Valve take on Oculus Rift with Vive virtual reality headset
December 2014
Hatred game back on Steam Greenlight
The controversial ‘mass-murder’ game has been restored to the community voting area of the major digital games store
Removing Hatred from Steam leaves awkward questions for Valve
Alex Hern
A gatekeeper such as Steam has a responsibilities. But it also must be reliable and predictable, and this is anything but
Hatred shooter removed from Steam gaming site
The controversial mass-murder simulator has been taken off the leading games distribution site, despite attracting thousands of positive votes
