New strategy card game accidentally free to claim on Steam due to dev mistake

A new indie deck-building game, Scrap Collector, is currently free to claim on Steam - but not intentionally. The game’s developer accidentally released it as a free-to-play title and later confirmed on Reddit (and Steam) that they had meant to set a price of $4.99. Realizing the mistake, they requested Valve to revert the game to a paid title as soon as possible. However, those who add it to their Steam libraries before the change will get to keep it permanently for free.

Released on March 7, Scrap Collector is a strategy card game that brings together resource management, crafting, and combat. Players use stacks of cards to create new items, build structures, and automate material collection. The game allows exploration through "Explore" cards, which reveal new areas, resources, and enemies, while combat involves placing bots and player units against threats in an automatic battle system. As players progress through the game, they can unlock blueprints and level up, which enhances their deck-building options.

Early reviews on Steam are mixed. Some players gushed over the game's relaxing gameplay and unique mechanics, while others were (understandably) quick to point out bugs and balancing issues, particularly in combat and card placement. Furthermore, the system requirements for Scrap Collector are minimal, making it accessible to most PC users. It requires a 2 GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and only 200MB of storage space.

With the developer actively trying to fix the pricing error, this is a limited-time opportunity for players to grab the game at no cost. Once Valve updates the listing (which could happen at any given time), Scrap Collector will return to its intended price.