After playing a game on Steam, you may earn a Trading Card. If yous're wondering what Steam Trading Cards are, what you tin can practise with them, and how to collect them all, you lot've come to the right place.

Here's how to brand real money from Steam Trading Cards—and while you won't earn quite enough to retire on, whatever kind of complimentary money is better than no coin.

What Are Steam Trading Cards?

Steam Trading Cards are entirely virtual. They but exist in your Steam contour and cannot be turned into physical rewards. So if yous idea y'all'd exist able to put them in binders to show your friends, you're out of luck.

Steam trading cards for the game Magicka
Prototype Credit: Valve/Steam

Each Steam Trading Menu is office of a fix. Collect a total fix of Trading Cards and you lot can become rewards, like boosted customization to your Steam profile. Y'all can also sell them on the Steam Customs Market place for wallet funds, which yous can then utilize towards purchases on Steam.

There are also special foil Trading Cards. You tin can collect a fix of foil cards and turn them into a foil badge for your Steam profile. Foil cards are like shiny Pokémon cards: no different from the regular ones in function, only simply rarer and therefore higher value.

Steam Trading Cards are a feature that Steam has which the Ballsy Shop doesn't.

How to Get Steam Trading Cards

The master way to earn Trading Cards is by playing games on Steam. You can view a list of eligible games across the entire Store, along with eligible games inside your library. This is also accessible in the Steam client via the Badges page, which appears below your username on the height menu.

In actuality, you don't have to play the game, you just need to have it open. Simply logging time in a game is all y'all need to practise to earn a Trading Carte, and they will randomly drop into your account. If you want to become off and do something else, you lot'll still be able to earn them.

badges page on steam

In fact, there are ways to get Steam Trading Cards without even running the game. But where'south the fun in that?

The just deviation is for free to play games. For approximately every $9 spent, you will become eligibility for a random carte du jour drop.

Once you finish playing a game and close it, you will be notified if yous've received a Trading Menu through the Steam messaging organization. A new message is signified past the envelope in the top-correct of the interface turning green.

Click the green envelope and click X new items in your inventory. This will have you to your inventory, where you tin view more than information about the card, such as its name and description.

How to Collect All Steam Trading Cards

It isn't possible to earn all of a game's Trading Cards just past playing it—only one-half. If a game has eight cards available, for example, you will only ever receive four of those by playing. However, you can receive duplicates, so yous won't necessarily get four unique cards.

Booster Packs

Once you lot've exhausted all of the free card drops, you can get more cards through booster packs. These are randomly granted as community members arts and crafts game badges.

Booster packs comprise iii random cards, though they might already be ones you own. Booster packs incorporate both basic and foil cards.

You must sign in to Steam each week to retain eligibility to receive a booster pack. Your adventure of receiving one as well increases alongside your Steam level.

Other players sell their unwanted cards on the Customs Market and you can purchase them using funds in your Steam wallet.

Steam cards to collect

To discover the cards you lot desire quickly, go to the Badges page, click a game, then click Search the Market next to the desired card.

If it'due south an uncommonly played game, you might find there are no cards currently listed or that they're expensive. If that'due south the case, yous might be better off waiting a while considering the price normally drops over fourth dimension.

Trade With Friends

If y'all have duplicate cards, or cards for a game that you're not interested in, you can trade with your friends. To practice this, become to your friends list, click the dropdown pointer next to their name, and click Trading > Send a Trade Offer.

You tin also go to the aforementioned Badges folio and click Visit Trade Forum to see if a stranger is offer an adequate substitution.

Trading Steam cards

This is a good fashion of getting a solid deal because you don't have to be bound by market rates. You don't even have to trade card for card; you could exchange for an in-game item, for example.

What to Practise With Steam Trading Cards

You tin can either choose to keep the cards and plow them into virtual rewards, or sell them on the Steam Community Market for coin.

Craft a Badge

Once you have a full set of Trading Cards, you tin plow them into a badge. This will display on your Steam profile and volition also grant you rewards:

  • A game-specific emoji to use in chats with friends.
  • A game-specific background to customize your Steam profile.
  • 100XP towards your Steam level; your Steam level determines profile customization options and how many people you can have on your friends list.
  • A chance to get a discount lawmaking for another game.
Steam badges
Epitome Credit: Valve/Steam

If you go another set of cards for the same game, yous tin use them to upgrade the badge (up to fives times at most). This gives you 100XP and also changes the badge's image and title.

If you're non interested in badges or Steam levels or any of that, you can sell your Trading Cards on the Steam Community Market.

Cards have no set value. You tin set whatsoever price you want, just whether someone is willing to pay that price is another matter. You will exist able to make more coin from a card if at that place's someone in the community specifically seeking it out or if not many of them exist. More often than not, the more pop a game is, the less valuable its cards.

Selling on the Steam Market

Go into your inventory, select a card, and click Sell to begin the procedure. Y'all will be able to see what the boilerplate toll for the card is and how much Valve will accept every bit their cut. When someone buys information technology, the money goes straight into your Steam wallet to apply against time to come purchases.

Steam Trading Cards: Gotta Catch 'Em All

Now yous know how to go Steam Trading Cards and what you can practise with them, it'southward time to play your games and start earning them.

At that place are enough of great Steam games that you can play in short bursts, which are perfect for collecting Steam Trading Cards. Plus you'll take swell fun doing information technology!

x Perfect PC Games to Play for v Minutes at a Fourth dimension

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Near The Author

Joe Keeley (877 Articles Published)

Joe was born with a keyboard in his easily and immediately started writing about technology. He has a BA (Hons) in Business organization and is now a full-fourth dimension freelance writer who enjoys making tech simple for everyone.

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