Back in November of last year, Valve’s Gabe Newell sent out a notice to Steam users that the Steam database had been breached, and that some user data had possibly been taken. Details on what exactly happened were slim, but now we know a little more.

Newell once again sent out an email today to update Steam users on the situation, and in the email he said that company confirmed that some personal data was compromised in the breach, including usernames, email addresses, and possibly even encrypted billing addresses and encrypted credit card information. However, Newell said that hackers didn’t take information directly from the database, but rather a backup file containing Steam transaction information–this means that your Steam passwords appear to be safe.

Fortunately, Newell went on to say that, as of now, there has been no evidence to suggest that hackers were able to gain access to the encrypted billing addresses and passwords. Still, he suggests that you keep a close eye on your credit card statements just to be on the safe side.

Below is the letter from Gabe Newell in full.

Dear Steam Users and Steam Forum Users

We continue our investigation of last year’s intrusion with the help of outside security experts. In my last note about this, I described how intruders had accessed our Steam database but we found no evidence that the intruders took information from that database. That is still the case.

Recently we learned that it is probable that the intruders obtained a copy of a backup file with information about Steam transactions between 2004 and 2008. This backup file contained user names, email addresses, encrypted billing addresses and encrypted credit card information. It did not include Steam passwords.

We do not have any evidence that the encrypted credit card numbers or billing addresses have been compromised. However as I said in November it’s a good idea to watch your credit card activity and statements. And of course keeping Steam Guard on is a good idea as well.

We are still investigating and working with law enforcement authorities. Some state laws require a more formal notice of this incident so some of you will get that notice, but we wanted to update everyone with this new information now.

Gabe

Gabe Newell updates users on Steam hack situation is a post from: The Inquisitr

Blizzard has filed a lawsuit against Valve for their registration of the “DOTA” trademark, claiming that the DOTA name is closely associated with Blizzard’s IP–in particular WarCraft III, the game that the mod was developed for.

“Valve seeks to appropriate the more than seven years of goodwill that Blizzard has developed in the mark DOTA and in its Warcraft III computer game,” Blizzard claims, “and take for itself a name that has come to signify the product of years of time and energy expended by Blizzard and by fans of Warcraft III.

“Valve has no right to the registration it seeks. If such registration is issued, it not only will damage Blizzard, but also the legions of Blizzard fans that have worked for years with Blizzard and its products, including by causing consumers to falsely believe that Valve’s products are affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by Blizzard and are related or connected to Warcraft III.”

When it was first revealed that Valve would be developing DOTA 2 under the direction of two out of the three developers that created the original WarCraft III mod, it came as a pretty big shock to the PC gaming community.

Amidst all of the surprise, there were some concerns raised over the fact that Valve intended to trademark the “DOTA” name. People argued that since the original Defense of the Ancients was a fan game, it was bad form for Valve to trademark what many players felt belonged to the community. But for Blizzard to essentially say that the DOTA “brand” is closely associated with their own IP, which is essentially the company trying to claim some form of indirect ownership, well, that’s where things get muddy.

If you’d like to go over the lawsuit yourself, you can do so at this link.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

via NeoGAF

Blizzard suing Valve over DOTA trademark is a post from: The Inquisitr

It wouldn’t be a proper year in the gaming industry without at least one rumor regarding Half-Life 3 and/or Half-Life 2: Episode 3, and this year we’ve had several.

Recently there’s been rumor that Valve was gearing up to kick off an ARG (alternate reality game) leading up to an announcement of Half-Life 3. Not only that, people picked apart Wheatley’s speech at the 2011 VGAs and found what they believed to be references to Half-Life 3. Unsurprisingly, a Valve employee recently confirmed that those rumors are false.

Valve writer Chet Faliszek took to the Steam forums and denied the recent Half-Life 3 rumors as well as Valve’s supposed plans to launch an ARG. Faliszek wrote in the post: “You are being trolled. There is no ARG. Wheatley’s speech was set in Portal 2 fiction – that is all. There has been no directive from Gabe to leak anything. That is all false.”

Faliszek continued: “I just want to say this so there is no confusion. This is the community trolling the community nothing more. While it is nice to see people excited about anything HL, I hate seeing people be trolled like this.”

Well, there you have it; Valve isn’t going to be talking about Half-Life 3 or Half-Life 2: Episode 3 anytime soon. There’s always next year!

Source: Steam forums (via G4)

Valve writer shoots down Half-Life 3 rumors is a post from: The Inquisitr

[Via reddit]

Portal Christmas Tree is a Triumph is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hopefully you’ve managed to save some cash from the onslaught of deals we’ve had over the past month, because Valve, as expected, kicked off their 2011 Steam Holiday sale today, and just about everything is discounted.

Now through January 1, Valve will roll out a new set of deals each day. The highlights of today’s round of deals includes Fable III for $12.49, Just Cause 2 for $4.99, Metro 2033 for $4.99, and Orcs Must Die for $3.74.

That’s not all of the deals to be had, however. You have the publisher pack deals, including the entire Id pack for $44.99 and the 2K Complete Pack for $74.99. There are also discounted items that aren’t on the featured list as well, so chances are you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for on the cheap.

Also, Valve kicked off a contest to coincide with the sale, with some very, very interesting prizes up for grabs; 1,000 winners will receive the Valve Complete Pack, 100 will get the top 5 items on their wishlist, 50 will get the top 10 items on their wishlist and, for the grand prize, one incredibly lucky person will receive every single game available on Steam. For free.

In order to enter, you have to participate in day-to-day activities. For every piece of “coal” you earn in your Steam inventory, which is rewarded by completing various activities, you’ll get an entry into the drawing. For more details on how that works, see this page.

Valve kicks off 2011 Steam Holiday sale is a post from: The Inquisitr

Developer Frozenbyte announced today that Trine 2, the sequel to 2009′s puzzle platformer, will be getting cross-platform play – but there’s a bit of a catch.

Trine 2 is set to release on just about every digital distribution service out there, but cross-platform play will only work on the Steamworks versions, and it will only work between PCs and Macs. In other words, no cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

“The cross-platform multiplayer between Windows and Mac makes it easier to find people to play with, allowing everyone to enjoy the full co-op potential of the beta and the upcoming game,” said Lauri Hyvärinen, CEO of Frozenbyte.

If you’ve pre-ordered a copy of Trine 2, you can get access to a beta version of the game right now on both PC and Mac. The beta includes the cross-platform co-op functionality, so you’ll get the opportunity to give that a test run before the game comes out as well.

Trine 2 is priced at $14.99 and is expected out on Mac, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 “later this year”. A DRM-free PC version will be released at some point in early 2012.

Trine 2 will feature cross-platform co-op between PC and Mac is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’re the type of person who can’t help but buy everything Valve puts on sale on Steam, you’re probably going to want to hide your wallet / credit card / PayPal account for about a week. Yep, it’s that time again.

Valve kicked off the ‘Autumn Sale’ over on Steam today with quite a few impressive deals, and there’s plenty more where that came from; each day up until November 27, Valve will be rotating in new deals.

Today’s round of deals include Portal 2 for $10.19, Mass Effect 2 for $4.99, Duke Nukem Forever for $6.79, Test Drive Unlimited 2, and Orcs Must Die for $3.74, just to name a few. Many more titles are being offered up for a discount beyond what’s in the featured list, so you’re sure to be able to find something you like that’s on sale.

Even if you can’t, there’s always tomorrow’s round.

To see what all is on sale for today, head over to the Steam Store or boot up your Steam client.

Valve kicks off Steam’s ‘Autumn Sale’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Gamers eager to give Counter-Strike: Global Offensive a test drive were disappointed when Valve announced earlier this month that the beta had been delayed, but it looks like fans won’t have to be disappointed for much longer.

Over on the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Twitter account, Valve revealed that the beta is expected to kick off on November 30 for anyone who has received a key through various promotions, events, or through an invite straight from Valve.

Valve also noted in the feed that the beta will start with only two maps, de_dust and de_dust2, and will only be available initially to those who already have a key. For those of us not fortunate enough to have a key yet, Valve promises more opportunities to get into the beta lie ahead, and there will even be a full-on open beta down the line.

The beta was originally scheduled to launch for a select few back in October, but Valve had to hold off on the beta due to feedback received from competitive Counter-Strike players at several events.

Valve has set no date for when the full version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be released. The beta is expected to last through several months, and as more and more people are invited into it, more and more changes and additions will be added in. The goal, apparently, is to keep adding things in, collecting feedback, and then releasing it when Valve feels it’s ready.

Source: Valve (via Joystiq)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive beta kicks off this month is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bad news, Steam users. As it turns out, the Steam forums wasn’t the only thing that was breached in the recent hack – Valve boss Gabe Newell confirmed today that the database for Steam itself was also accessed by the hackers.

According to Newell, some personal data was accessible by the hackers, including user names, “hashed and salted” passwords, purchase history, email and billing addresses, and there’s even a possibility that encrypted credit card data may have been accessible. However, Newell is quick to note that there is no evidence to suggest that the hackers were able to grab the credit card information.

Here’s the statement in full:

Dear Steam Users and Steam Forum Users,

Our Steam forums were defaced on the evening of Sunday, November 6. We began investigating and found that the intrusion goes beyond the Steam forums.

We learned that intruders obtained access to a Steam database in addition to the forums. This database contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information. We do not have evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or personally identifying information were taken by the intruders, or that the protection on credit card numbers or passwords was cracked. We are still investigating.

We don’t have evidence of credit card misuse at this time. Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely.

While we only know of a few forum accounts that have been compromised, all forum users will be required to change their passwords the next time they login. If you have used your Steam forum password on other accounts you should change those passwords as well.

We do not know of any compromised Steam accounts, so we are not planning to force a change of Steam account passwords (which are separate from forum passwords). However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change that as well, especially if it is the same as your Steam forum account password.

We will reopen the forums as soon as we can.

I am truly sorry this happened, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Gabe.

Valve confirms Steam database hacked is a post from: The Inquisitr

As you may have noticed if you went to check out the Steam forums this morning, Valve has taken down the Steam forums “temporarily” to perform “maintenance”. According to reports from individuals who were browsing the forums before it was taken down, however, the forums being offline may be the result of the Steam forums being hacked.

Before the forums were taken down, several Steam forum users noticed a new category in the Steam forums directing people to a site called “Fkn0wned” (image here). Additionally, many other users reported that their email addresses tied to their Steam accounts were spammed with advertisements for the site.

The group that would appear to be responsible for the hack, Fkn0wned, took down their site in light of the Steam forums breach, and they claim that they weren’t responsible for it.

Valve has yet to make a comment on the potential breach, but for the moment it doesn’t look like any personal data was compromised. Still, it probably wouldn’t hurt to change your Steam account password if you used the same password on the Steam forums, just to be safe.

We’ll let you know when we hear more.

Source: Reddit (via Destructoid)

Steam forums reportedly hacked is a post from: The Inquisitr

Valve announced today that Portal 2 will be receiving new DLC early next year, but this time the DLC is going to be different.

Rather than cook up a new set of challenge maps for players to take on in singleplayer or co-op, Valve is working on creating an in-game map editor to allow users to create, edit and share maps of their very own, all from a slick, intuitive in-game interface.

Not much is known about it at this point, but Valve did say that users will be able to use the “easy-to-use” map editor to create both singleplayer test chambers and co-op test chambers. Once uploaded, other players will be able to check out your map, and even rate it if they like it.

Not only do we not know much about it, we also don’t know as of yet just what platforms Portal 2‘s second helping of DLC will be available on. It’s more than safe to say it’ll be arriving on PC, but a console release is up in the air at this point. We’ve reached out for comment on that.

Valve says that it’s aiming to get the Portal 2 map editor out by early 2012 which, when converted to Valve time, could be just about anything. Maybe sooner, maybe later. Who knows, it may be on time!

Just kidding, Valve. You know I love you.

Portal 2′s next DLC: In-game map editor is a post from: The Inquisitr

Interested in seeing what all the fuss is about with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valve’s update to the classic, iconic FPS? If you have an hour’s worth of free time on your hands, you can do just that.

There was a recent tournament for the yet-to-be-released FPS held at Intel Extreme Masters recently, and the result is that we get to see nearly an hour’s worth of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive footage – and not just any footage, footage of the pros in action.

I never was able to get too heavily into Counter-Strike, mostly due to the fact that I’m apparently horrible at it, but I have to say that I’m really looking forward to at least trying out Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

You can check out the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive footage from Intel Extreme Masters and ESL TV below.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is due out sometime early next year. Valve will be running a beta up until release.

Here’s an hour of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive footage [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Half-Life 2 released in 2004, the Source Engine really was something to behold. The textures were beautiful, the lighting was great – especially when HDR was added in – and you didn’t even need a particularly high-end PC to get those visuals.

Seven years later, however, the engine is starting to show its old age. Valve continues to push the engine, opting to update it as technology progresses rather than building up a new engine from scratch, but even Portal 2, as gorgeous as it was, betrayed the engine’s age at times.

Valve is aware of this, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in a rush to get started on Source Engine 2. Not yet, at least.

In an interview with GamingLives, Valve’s Chet Faliszek explained why we haven’t seen a Source Engine 2 (yet), saying:

“[We] just update [Source] – not just replace it,” he said. “At some point we may say there’s Source 2 or whatever, but really for us there’s been a pretty easy way to keep it and understanding the tools. When you replace an engine, you’re replacing the tools and the way that people work, there’s an expense in man hours and people learning and people getting up on it right.”

Personally, I’d be willing to wait as long as it takes for Source Engine 2, or whatever it will be called. Portal 2 looked great and Left 4 Dead 2 didn’t look half bad either, but that’s not what’s really important in the end; What’s important is that Valve continues making games that are a blast to play, and there’s no signs of them stopping anytime soon.

What do you think? Are you tired of the Source Engine?

Source: GamingLives (via PC Gamer)

Valve explains why there is no Source Engine 2 (yet) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Good news and bad news, Portal 2 fans. The bad news is that Portal 2‘s first round of DLC won’t be coming out this month after all. The good news, though, is that it will be coming out in early October instead.

Valve announced earlier today that Portal 2‘s first DLC, “Peer Review”, will be made available for no cost to you on Mac, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 4.

The DLC continues the story of the lovable robot duo, P-Body and Atlas, and sees you and a friend trying to work out a new set of nefarious puzzles from GLaDOS. Additionally, the DLC adds in a new singleplayer and co-op challenge mode, complete with your standard leaderboards to see how your scores measure up.

If you just can’t bear to wait a few more days for the DLC, Valve is offering up the last set of tracks from Portal 2‘s soundtrack, Music to Test By, over on thinkwithportals.com. It may not be the DLC you hoped for, but at least you get something out of the wait!

Portal 2 ‘Peer Review’ DLC coming out early next month (for free) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Here’s one I bet you wouldn’t have seen coming but it appears that Valve, best known as the creator of such video games as Half-Life and Portal, is joining the Digital Promise education initiative from the President and Congress.

To be honest I’m just as confused as to how a video game company is going to get its hands dirty when it comes to education but thankfully we have this bit of an explanation from the Digital Promise press release on the Whitehouse.gov site:

Leading Video Game Company Establishes Education Prize: Valve, creator of best-selling video game franchises and leading technologies, is stepping into the educational arena due to interest from teachers, students, researchers, and fans after the release of Portal 2, a brain-challenging puzzle game.  Valve will run a competition next year where middle- and high-school students and teachers can create levels of Portal 2 to be used in the home and classroom while competing for prizes worth $250,000.  As a start, Valve will be giving out free copies of Portal, the first in the series, which is rated for teens.  For more information, go to:www.learnwithportals.com.

Wow, Portal in the classroom. Sure could give a whole new meaning to cutting class.

Valve turning on the tap when it comes to education is a post from: The Inquisitr

I can’t imagine that anyone on the internet who has at least a modicum of interest in gaming doesn’t already own Portal, but on the very off chance that you don’t, Steam has made the first-person puzzler available for free on Steam for a limited time.

You have between now and the end of day on Tuesday, September 20th to take advantage of what is essentially robbing Valve of one of the greatest puzzle games ever made. If you’re worried that your PC may not be able to run it, don’t; Portal will run on just about any rig made over the past 8 or so years, albeit with low-end settings.

Even in that case, it’s still absolutely worth the download. To get the download started, head over to this link – or, if you prefer, simply boot up your Steam client, browse your way over to the Portal store page and get to downloading.

Seriously. Download it. I mean it. If you do, I’ll give you some cake!

via Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Portal free on Steam, here’s your chance to rob Valve is a post from: The Inquisitr

Lucky PAX attendees are getting the chance to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive right now, but if you’re like me and missed out on a chance to go, Valve was kind enough to release a new trailer to show us what we’re missing.

Most of the video is a series of quick flashes of action and a few showpieces for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive‘s visuals, but Valve also dropped some new information in the trailer: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will have cross-platform play.

Just what that means exactly is unknown right now. The PlayStation 3 version of Portal 2 had Steamworks support and allowed for cross-platform play, but Microsoft imposes restrictions on Xbox Live that, at least for now, block Steamworks from being integrated in the same way.

This may not necessarily mean that the Xbox 360 will be left out of cross-platform play, though. We’ll send a note over to Valve and let you know as soon as we hear back.

Until then, check out the debut Counter-Strike: Global Offensive trailer below.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive debut trailer out, confirms cross-platform play is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you need a little incentive to get back into Portal 2 anytime soon, Valve is set to offer incentive in the form of Portal 2‘s first DLC. Originally pegged for a “summer” release, it’s now due out around the middle of September.

Doug Lombardi, marketing director for Valve, revealed as much to Kotaku in a statement earlier today, adding that the release window is “still technically summer,” in case you were bummed out by the prospect of the DLC missing its original release window.

Unfortunately, we still don’t know a great deal about just what the DLC will bring. What we do know is that it’s free on all platforms and includes new test chambers and challenge modes for both singleplayer and multiplayer. Personally, they had me at free.

As ashamed as I am to admit this, I still haven’t had the opportunity to play Portal 2 – I have a backlog like you wouldn’t believe, so I have an excuse. That said, an extra piece of free content might be able to coerce me into bumping Portal 2 up on my to-do list.

Portal 2 getting first DLC next month is a post from: The Inquisitr

Convincing rumors started to hit the web late yesterday that Valve was gearing up to announce an all-new Counter-Strike game and, well, it looks like the rumors were true. Just moments ago, Valve officially announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for PC, Mac and consoles.

Due out in early 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will add updated versions of classic maps in addition to entirely new maps. That’s not all, though – you’ll also get new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leaderboards, new characters, new weapons and more.

The PC and Mac versions will, obviously, release on Steam when it ships next year, but it doesn’t appear that it’ll be getting a retail release for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Instead, Valve intends to release Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on XBLA and PSN.

“Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999,” said Doug Lombardi, VP of Marketing at Valve. “For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS’ award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac.”

Practically nothing is known about the title at the moment, but rumors have it that it’s based on a modern, updated version of the Source engine. We won’t have to wait long to find out, though: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be playable for attendees of PAX Prime in addition to the 2011 Eurogamer Expo.

For now, why not stare at the game’s Steam page?

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive officially announced is a post from: The Inquisitr

Have you been holding off on buying Portal 2 on your PC until an inevitable price drop hits? If so, you’re in luck! Valve has permanently reduced the price of Portal 2 on Steam.

Portal 2 will now set you back a more than reasonable $29.99 on Steam. If you’ve missed out on both Portal and Portal 2, you can also buy both of them bundled together for an even more reasonable $34.98.

If you prefer your gaming on a console, you can also buy Portal 2 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on the cheap, but you’ll have to settle for forking over an extra $10 for now. There’s no word on whether or not an additional price drop on consoles is due anytime soon, but it seems likely.

Either way, you now have little excuse to not play Portal 2 if you haven’t already. Get to it, you!

via VG247

Portal 2 gets a permanent price drop on Steam is a post from: The Inquisitr