New translation strings in Steam’s Translation Server – a project to localize Steam in 26 languages – suggest that game developer and digital distributor Valve will soon begin to offer bitcoin as a payment option to the world’s biggest PC gaming distributor and store, Steam.
A leaked string from Steam’s translation project has revealed that Valve’s Steam will soon integrate bitcoin as a payment option to its PC gaming community. The integration is made possible by using Bitpay’s API, the leak shows.
The strings were leaked on Reddit and are included below:
bitcoin_authorization_explanation
Bitcoin transactions are authorized through the BitPay website. Click the button below to open a new web browser to initiate the transaction.
bitcoin_payment_tips_header
Tips for Bitcoin customers
bitcoin_payment_tips_text
This process can take up to 60 seconds. To avoid purchasing failures, please do not hit your back button or close the bitpay window before the process is complete.
checkout_payment_method_specific_note_bitcoin
Note: Any approved refunds for purchases made with Bitcoin can only be credited to your Steam wallet
checkout_receipt_pending_bitcoin_long
Your purchase is currently in progress and is waiting for confirmation of Bitcoin delivery from BitPay. This process can take several minutes to a few days for confirmation. Valve will send an email receipt to you when payment is received for this purchase. During this time you may continue shopping for other games, though you will not be able to re-purchase any products that are pending in this transaction.
checkout_receipt_pending_bitcoin_text
For questions regarding your payment processing status, please contact BitPay [https://bitpay.com/ ].
Bitcoin Support via BitPay
With BitPay’s services of zero-confirmation payment processor, Steam and its users will both benefit from instant settlements and transactions. Bitcoin also offers substantially lower processing fees compared to existing payment methods such as credit cards and PayPal.
Additionally, the use of BitPay as a third-party payment processor negates the need for Valve/Steam to run a node on its own. Seamless integration, a drop in merchant fees for Steam and lowering the risk of chargeback fraud are all likely to be factors in Steam’s endeavor to use BitPay’s API and services.
A Boost for Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s acceptance as a method of payment by Valve for the Steam store could prove to be substantially beneficial for the cryptocurrency, with the very real likelihood of increased adoption by a significant global gaming community. Bitcoin’s acceptance by Steam also brings the plausibility of other digital platforms following Steam’s lead in the future.
Steam claims to have a user base of 125 million active users (2015 figures ) and users in emerging markets will now able to circumvent the lack of localized payment methods support by opting to use a global decentralized currency in Bitcoin.
PC is the world’s biggest gaming platform while Steam is the largest and most popular online PC gaming distributor.
Representatives for Valve and BitPay weren’t immediately available for comment when CCN.com reached out at the time of publication.
