Steam "Item Stores" Introduced

[Omnomnick]

A new Steam Update which slipped completely under our radar yesterday evening has introduced "Item Stores" to the Steam Community. As the name suggests, "Item Stores" will act as a compliment to the Community Market by allowing game developers to set fixed prices for in-games items, clothing, or weapons without having to put any work into coding and organising a complicated storefront within a game itself. These items can then be purchased by players to use in the selected game title, similar to existing stores Valve has created for Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Team Fortress 2.

The first game to experiment with this new feature is Rust, a game which has always attempted to emulate the example set by Valve to offer fair, cosmetic-only upgrades totally separated from gameplay. The store features a new layout, appearing as something of a hybrid between the regular Steam Store and the Community Market, with developers able to customise features of the design, such as the background, header, item categories, and, of course, the items themselves.

Although not the biggest bit of news to ever hit Steam, we feel this is a natural extension of the platform which could definitely become a standard for many compatible titles heading forwards. It could also prove useful for Valve themselves should they wish to move or convert their own in-game stores over to this new browser-friendly model.