Steam Trading Cards leaving beta June 26, Summer Sale teased

Steam Trading Cards, a collectible set of digital cards that Steam users can trade and cash in for rewards in the Steam store, will fully launch this week on Wednesday, June 26, Valve announced late last week.

Trading Cards have been available for some Steam users in beta, allowing them to grab cards (and potential freebies) while playing Don't Starve, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2 and Half-Life 2 at launch. That list of games will continue to be expanded in the coming months, with "several games" added to the roster when the program leaves beta this week.

"We'll be continuing to iterate on existing features and add new ones after the release," Steam developer John Cook wrote on the platform's forums. "There are a few things we have talked about previously that we really wanted to get to, that have now been pushed till post release — Trade Offers, and the Card Binder. They will still get done we just don't have an exact timeline on that."

Cook also teases an upcoming event launching around the Steam Trading Cards service; possibly the start of the Steam Summer Sale, which traditionally kicks off toward the end of June or beginning of July.

"Making trading cards available to all Steam users is a step towards an event we think everyone can be excited about," Cook wrote.

For more information on the Steam Trading Cards metagame, check out the official Trading Cards community on Steam.