Done with that Zynga story? Thought that was all the economics you were getting today? Nope. While heās not recommending investor action, writer Paul Manwaring did some number crunching and conservatively valued Team Fortress 2ās unique items economy at, oh, about $50 million.
Manwaring examined the statistics kept (and made public) for TF2 and, long story short, finds that a community of 30,000 concurrent players each day in TF2 on Steam is injecting $1.54 million worth of ārefined metalā into this virtual economy each week. Refined metal is what creates a key. Since the hat economy began in May 2009, Manwaring estimates that āwe can be confident in a minimum figure of $52.7 million,ā as its valuation, āwithout even taking into account weapons bought in the store, promotional items and more. The true figure is probably double this.ā
I highly recommend you read Manwaringās entire post. Again, itās not money in Valveās bank account. But it is another way to characterize the enthusiasm and time investment Team Fortress 2ās dedicated players sink into the game.
The $50 Million Virtual Millinery [Paul Manwaring, for The Online Society]
