Valve Is Paying People To Test The Steam Deck
Getting paid to play games is pretty much every gamer's dream, although the path to making money isn't always as easy as it seems in the streaming world. Well, it appears that Valve, the publishers behind Steam and games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), is making dreams possible and paying gamers to try out their new console.
Their new console, the handheld Steam Deck, is set for launch in December 2021, and will likely make its way into Santa's sack for a range of children and adults, rivalling the Nintendo Switch this Christmas.
But just as they get ready for the big red man to do their distribution rounds, Valve is physically paying people to test the Steam Deck.
Valve Are Paying For Steam Deck Testers
The Steam Deck is set to play host to over 50,000 games that can also be found on the PC Steam store, most of which will be instantly available to gamers who purchase the console.
With such a huge variety of games to play, Valve are now reportedly hiring people to test every single game, to ensure they run effectively on the Steam Deck, just as they do on PC.
The publishers are ensuring every single game on the store is running on the handheld Steam Deck, meaning it will likely be a hefty team that will work their way through these titles before its launch in December.
In an interview with Rock Paper Scissors, Steam Deck designers Greg Coomer and Lawrence Yang, said: "We've hired an additional group of testers specifically for Steam Deck compatibility, and will continue to hire additional staff to support this group.
"It will take time to review the Steam catalog (in addition to the new titles that are being launched all the time), and we see some version of this process being in place for the foreseeable future."
Which Games Will Feature On Steam Deck?
According to the developers, the Steam Deck will emulate its PC store, and the way a PC works, effectively making the Steam Deck a portable PC console.
"We want customers to be informed, but fundamentally the Deck is a gaming PC," continued Yang and Coomer. "Valve doesn't want to be in the position of telling customers they're not allowed to do things on their own device.
However, they were quick to reiterate that some games may not be as good on the portable console. Titles such as Half-Life: Alyx, which rely heavily on typing, don't translate onto the portable console as effectively as others. "When the Steam Deck is out, although it'll be able to advise what you do and do not play, it'll be down to you to make the final decision on what you want to do with it," the developers concluded.
With its launch in December vastly approaching, some happy gamers are going to have a great festive season of paid gaming.