According to data from steamladder.com, the most valuable Steam profile is $279,114. Let's be clear that the value of a Steam profile does not mean how much a player has actually invested. As anyone who has ever purchased a Humble Bundle can attest, it is very easy to own several hundred pounds worth of games and only pay a fraction of that. But what does that value apply to?

For Steam user St4ck, owner of the most valuable profile in the world, it's almost a badge. More specifically, it is how the badge affects the level of their Steam profile. The value of the games they own is relatively trivial at $36,232.

For those who don't know, trading cards are produced while playing games or during Steam events such as sales. By exchanging (or purchasing) a set of cards, you can create badges, which increase your XP and your level as a Steam user. Cards produced during Steam events such as sales (usually by purchasing games) seem to contribute more significantly to leveling up than cards dropped in games. Being a high level user has little cosmetic benefit, but similar to the value of having a high level character in the game if the character is you and the game is a storefront.

I was unable to contact St4ck for comment. This is because their friends list is full, even though higher level profiles can add more friends. Of the top 10, St4ck was the only user whose badge was worth considerably more than $1000; St4ck is an anomaly among the higher-priced profiles. While most high-value accounts simply have very large game libraries, St4ck rises to the top by accumulating cards; among their peers who own over 20,000 games but spend the majority of their time on just one game, they are trading card heretics. For several, that one game was Counter-Strike.

In other words, if you are interested in having a high-value Steam account, you have two options. The other is to cast a complex web of item transactions in a small, gamified trading economy. However, in a transaction economy centered on store events, it is impossible to participate in the latter without also participating in the former.