Industry darling Valve has hired an economist and economics theory professor, Yanis Varoufakis, to help analyse the virtual economies of its games.<\/p>\n
This decision is in line with Valve\u2019s trend towards free-to-play titles such as Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2.<\/p>\n
Varoufakis doesn\u2019t have experience in the game industry nor is he much of a gamer, but the man has some impressive credentials nonetheless \u2013 he served as an economic adviser to former Greek PM George Papandreou and has done extensive work on Greece\u2019s economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Valve was having issues linking economies in two game environments in order to create a shared currency, and boss Gabe Newell recognised this problem as very similar to the current economic troubles between Germany and Greece. This spurred him to invite Varoufakis to be Valve\u2019s in-house economist.<\/p>\n
According to Varoufakis, in-game economies are an economist \u201cdream-come-true\u201d, as he doesn\u2019t have to rely on statistics and inferences, but can actually see the data of every transaction made.<\/p>\n
This is an impressive move from Newell, and certainly shows that Valve is willing to raise the bar in their operations.<\/p>\n
Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n DotA 2 will be free to play for everyone<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Free-to-play Team Fortess 2 is 12 times more profitable<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n DOTA 2 will be free to play, \u201cwith a twist\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Valve adds $100 virtual ring to Team Fortress 2<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n