Skip to main content

Valve wants you to test unreleased games, hardware

Valve Software
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re reading the “Gaming” section of Digital Trends, we feel safe in assuming that you have, at some point, played a game developed by Valve Software. Half-Life, Team Fortress 2, Portal; statistically speaking, you’ve probably enjoyed at least one of these titles. That’s great, we’re all very happy for you, but like some kind of hackneyed mafioso stereotype, Valve now wants a favor in exchange for all the enjoyment its given us over the years. Fortunately, in this case, you won’t have to whack James Caan.

Instead, Valve hopes that you might volunteer to test some of its “unreleased games” and “hardware prototypes.” Have a look at the official announcement on the Steam forums:

Recommended Videos

We’re looking for folks to come to Valve and playtest both released and unreleased versions of our games as well as play around with some of our hardware prototypes. If you have interest in stopping by (most sessions last around an hour), please fill out the survey below. We’re looking for people local to the Seattle/Bellevue area, but you’re welcome to fill out the survey no matter where you live as we may have plans for remote playtests in the future.

Thanks for your interest in helping us make better products!

Assuming you’re in the greater Seattle metropolitan area (or are willing to travel just to play whatever secretive things Valve has in mind), you should click through this link to Valve’s aforementioned Playtester survey. It’s a pretty standard questionnaire that demands your name and email address, along with more in-depth questions about your gaming habits.

If you aren’t fortunate enough to live in Seattle it looks like you may miss out on the initial round of playtester selection, however Valve’s notice has been updated to say that the company will be expanding its call for playtesters in the near future. “We are looking to add international support in the future. For now though, playtesting will be US only,” it now reads. Exactly how “international” this support might inevitably become is anyone’s guess, though we have a feeling that all of Valve’s neatest projects will be shown first to testers at the company’s Seattle-area headquarters.

As for what exactly you’ll be testing, that remains a mystery. Maybe Half-Life 3, maybe a new Valve-branded gaming console. For all we know it might be an interactive, robotic, plush headcrab. Odds are solid that anyone accepted as a playtester will be asked to sign reams of non-disclosure agreements preventing them from discussing the experience under threat of lawsuit, so we don’t expect this event to generate any useful, intriguing news. At least not for those who are ineligible for these playtesting positions (read: those of us who write about video games for a living).

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
Nissan joins ChargeScape, a way for EV owners to sell watts back to the grid
electrify america home charging station for electric cars

EV owners already enjoy the benefits of knowing their vehicle is charging up quietly while they sleep. Now they can dream about how much money they can make in the process.That’s the bet Nissan is making by joining ChargeScape, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) venture that is already backed by BMW, Ford, and Honda.ChargeScape’s software wirelessly connects electric vehicles to power grids and utility companies. When connected with ChargeScape's platform, EV drivers can receive financial incentives for temporarily pausing charging during periods of high demand. ChargeScape says they will eventually also be able to sell the energy stored in their vehicle's battery back to the power grid.
A 2021 study by the University of Rochester found that EV owners could save up to $150 a year by using V2G technology. But the technology has evolved in recent years. V2G company Fermata Energy says that in some circumstances, a customer using its bi-directional charger was able to save $187.50 in 15 minutes by drawing energy from a Nissan LEAF to avoid costly demand charges.
Nissan intends to roll out the ChargeScape technology to its EV drivers across the U.S. and Canada. The company says the move is of particular significance given its U.S. sales of 650,000 Leaf models, one of the first EVs with the capability to export power back to the grid.ChargeScape, which launched in September, is equally owned by BMW, Ford, Honda, and now Nissan. But it expects other automakers to join the party.In August, GM announced that V2G technology will become standard in all its model year 2026 models. The project comes at a time when EV sales and infrastructure growth are ramping up quickly, along with challenges for the electric grid. Simply put, more EVs on the road means more demand on utilities to provide the needed power.At the same time, more and more EV makers seek to incorporate automotive software that provide advanced driver aids and other connected features. With vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology quickly spreading, ChargeScape is entering a landscape where competitors such as ChargePoint, Electrify America, Fermata Energy, and BP Pulse are already vying for a piece of the action.
But there is one good reason for ChargeScape to move in now: Tesla, which otherwise dominates the field in the U.S., has so far backed off from embracing V2G technology, focusing instead on its Powerwall home-battery solution to store solar energy and provide backup power. However, CEO Elon Musk has hinted that Tesla could introduce V2G technology for its vehicles in 2025.

Read more
Waymo’s Hyundai robotaxi deal may steal the show from Tesla
A Hyundai Ioniq 5 is equipped as a robotaxi.

Just days ahead of Tesla’s much anticipated robotaxi event on Thursday, Hyundai unveiled a partnership with Waymo that will add Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 to the fleet of the robotaxi operator.In the first phase of the partnership, Waymo will integrate its sixth-generation fully autonomous technology, called the Waymo Driver, into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which will be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.On-road testing with Waymo-enabled Ioniq 5s is due to start in late 2025 and become available to riders of the Waymo One robotaxi service the following year.Alphabet-owned Waymo currently operates the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., with a fleet of about 700 self-driving vehicles already on the road in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The service is also being tested in Austin, Texas.Last year, General Motors’ competing robotaxi service Cruise had to stop operations after one of its vehicles struck a pedestrian in San Francisco. Cruise’s GM vehicles are nonetheless expected to resume operations next year through a partnership with Uber.Driverless vehicles have stumbled on two main obstacles on the road to commercialization: The complexity of the technology and tight safety regulations.For now, Waymo’s existing footprint gives it a marked advantage over its competitors. Its sixth-generation technology is said to handle a wider array of weather conditions with fewer on-board cameras and sensors. In their joint statement, Waymo and Hyundai emphasized the proven safety of both the Waymo technology and the Ioniq 5. Waymo’s technology relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar and lidar (a laser-light radar). It's an approach that might be very costly but has met the approval of safety regulators. All this adds pressure on Tesla to deliver the goods with the launch of its robotaxi -- expected to be called the Cybercab.Tesla’s ambition has been to eventually provide full driverless capacity directly to consumers. Tesla owners can already buy software called Full Self-Driving (FSD) that operates like an advanced driver assistance system and requires constant driver supervision.Tesla’s FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.The technology, however, has not yet convinced all current and former traffic safety officials.

Read more
Tesla reveals price range for Optimus Gen2, its ‘robot without wheels’
Tesla's 2022 Optimus robot prototype is seen in front of the company logo.

“The future should look like the future”, CEO Elon Musk said at the Tesla "We Robot" special event held in Burbank, California, earlier this week. Sure enough, Tesla’s much-anticipated autonomous robotaxi, the Cybercab, and its large-van counterpart, the Cybervan, seemed straight out of celebrated sci-fi movies. But as the name of the event hinted at, a vision of the future would not be complete without robots: Several of the Optimus Gen 2, Tesla’s latest version of humanoid-like robot, were found serving drinks, holding conversations with guests, and even dancing at the event.Tesla has recently pitched the Optimus as a potential replacement for factory workers in China and elsewhere. Musk previously said he expects the Optimus to start working at Tesla factories in 2025 and to be available to other firms in 2026.
Yet, at the event, the Tesla boss revealed his expanded vision of a household robot that can do “everything you want: Babysit your kid, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks”.He also gave a closer estimate of the robot’s price tag: Once produced "at scale," Optimus should cost somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. Musk had previously said the robot’s price would be about half that of a car. 
Staying true to his sci-fi vision, the Tesla CEO referred to Optimus as a cross between R2D2 and C-3PO, the famous droids from the Star Wars film series.
Ever since the first generation of the Optimus was revealed in 2022, Tesla has emphasized the continuity between its cars and the robot. “Everything that we’ve developed for our cars -- the battery power’s electronics, the advanced motor’s gearboxes, the software, the AI inference computer -- it all actually applies to a humanoid robot,” Musk said at the event. “A robot with arms and legs, instead of a robot with wheels.”
Tesla would not be the first to offer a domestic robot on the market. Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics has already commercialized a home service-type robot called Spot with a hefty price tag of $74,500. BMW and Open AI are backing robots made by Figure, a California-based company. Meanwhile, Nvidia is developing Project GR00T to also deliver humanoid robots.Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs forecast that the annual global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035, with robot shipments of 1.4 million units both for industrial and consumer applications. It also said that robots could become more affordable as their manufacturing cost has been decreasing more than expected -- leading to faster commercialization.

Read more