Steam may soon accept Bitcoin as payment for games and other services
According to reports from various Steam developers and the unaffiliated data analysis website Steam Database, game developers Valve – the game developers behind games like Half-Life, Portal, Counter Strike and Team Fortress – will soon accept Bitcoin as payment for services on their digital games distribution platform, Steam.
Valve has been skeptical of Bitcoin in the past, but given its heavy investment in digital goods and services it would be no surprise for them to expand their payment options to accommodate the popular digital currency. Many third-party websites already exchange bitcoins for Steam game keys, and a large independent market exists for tradable in-game items like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins or cosmetic Dota 2 items.
No exact date for the update has been given, and Valve has yet to make an official public statement.
Microsoft ceases production of Xbox 360 consoles.
After more than 10 years in circulation, Microsoft announced on April 20 that it will soon cease production of new Xbox 360 game consoles. Pushing sales on the newer Xbox One game console and Windows 12 operating system for gaming was the primary push behind Microsoft’s decision. Many Xbox 360 titles are already playable on the Xbox One with no additional cost.
All online services, including third-party software such as Netflix, will continue to function for the foreseeable future. The remaining consoles, accessories and games still on the market will stay in circulation for as long as supplies last.
World of Warcraft Classic server petition reaches 200,000 signatures. Former developer Mark Kern takes it to Blizzard executives.
After the events that led to the shutdown of the World of Warcraft private server Nostalrius, an online petition was initiated to ask the heads of Blizzard entertainment, specifically co-founder Mike Morhaime, to change the policies regarding third-party use of the game’s content. The goal is to allow a team like Nostalrius to run the original 2004 iteration of the game or for Blizzard to provide it itself. The petition has since gained more than 200,000 signatures and been endorsed by former Blizzard game developer Mark Kern.
Kern has printed all five thousand pages of the petition and plans deliver them to Morhaime himself in an effort to organize a definitive sit-down on the topic. His ultimate goal is to determine whether these legacy servers are a practical option.
Blizzard has yet to make an official comment on the current situation. In the past they have commented on the idea of classic servers and stated they did not have the original source code for the game and that they did not have high opinions of the original game.