src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/july/steamtrades.jpg" alt="Can I trade stuff for beer? That'd be incredibly useful." />

Valve’s in-game TF2 item store is about to become an out-of-game item store. They’re trialling something called Steam Trading, which primarily involves swapping your TF2 unlocks (i.e. those damnable hats, mostly) for other games.

It’s an old-fashioned barter system in new-fangled clothes. What happens is you invite someone on your Steam friends list or who you’re in a group chat with to trade, and can offer up your various TF2 items to the other guy. In return, he or she can offer you other TF2 items – or to gift a game to you. You can’t do this with any old game in your Steam library – only games you’ve purchased from the store as a gift, or received as an Extra Copy. /> href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/10/games-for-hats-valve-trials-steam-trades/#more-68862" class="more-link">(more…