Farming Simulator 15 casually adds Steam Trading Cards, and I can get a shiny cow for the price of a Starbucks

Farming Simulator 25 is an interesting game. Of course, it's a great simulator, perfect for a relaxing evening of moving hay bales or flocks of sheep from one field to another. But then there's a thriving esports scene. No, seriously. More speedrunning than headshot-tallying, there are points systems, pro players, and everything. And now, it joins the legions of other games to implement Steam Trading Cards - in true Farming Sim fashion, there's an expensive twist to the tale. Or should that be tail?

Steam Trading Cards are pseudo-achievements, unlocked simply by playing a game. You can then sell or trade them on Steam's marketplace. Most cards go for around $0.10 / £0.07, but rare ones can be higher. Very few, however, break the $2.00 / £1.50 mark. That's why I was flabbergasted to check the Steam marketplace and see that players are trying to flog the new Farming Simulator 25 trading cards for as much as $6.06 / £4.44.

There are no sales yet, so that's not to say that players are buying the Farming Sim 25 trading cards for these prices, but committed fans who've already earned a foil or two are taking their chances and hoping somebody will splurge on the rare digital collectibles. The prices are likely inflated due to the fact that the trading cards have only just been released, so supply is minimal and most people, even dedicated fans of the simulation game, won't have unlocked them all yet.

However, the prices have already dropped. Earlier today, the Holstein Cow foil trading card, described on the platform as, "Just a milk-producing herbivore. Chillin', grazin'…" was going for around ~$9.50 / £7.00 - that's as much as a Starbucks, if you don't bother with any of the syrups or specials. It has already reduced to as little as $2.98 / £2.18, while the maximum offer to buy is just $1.41 / £1.03. That's still a lot of money to spend on a jpeg of a cow, however shiny, but it's nowhere near the prices originally offered.

As with most examples of Steam Trading Cards, these prices should settle over the coming days and weeks. While those $10 cards are still on the market, they've already been undercut by budding entrepreneurs, and eventually the prospective buyers and sellers will find an appropriate middle ground.

If you want to get your hands on these cards and don't want to open your wallet, though, there's a simple answer: load up the game and get playing. Who knows, if you put enough hours into tilling and plowing, you may end up with a full set of foil cards and an offer from an esports organization. What more could a gamer want than some shiny pixels and a John Deere sponsorship?