The prophecy foretold is now fulfilled: The Steam Summer Sale is live! That means cards to collect, a badge to earn, a game to play, and yes, some deals on games.

This year's event includes a game, Saliens, that pits players against the Duldrumz, "purveyors of boredom of the highest order," who are out to steal all of the games and hide them on distant alien worlds, where you won't be able to find them. But have no fear, the Saliens are here! Under your control, they'll do battle on various alien worlds, defeating enemies, taking control of map sectors, earning experience, and claiming rewards (including free games) for victory.

Unfortunately, the game isn't loading right now (the foretold server crush has also apparently come true), but Chris was able to snag an image before it wiped out on him, so we can at least see what it looks like.

As usual, you can earn three free Steam trading cards each day by browsing your Discovery Queue, which can be spun into a badge once you've got them all. And yes, as promised, some dealios—no actual prices listed, I'm afraid, because, as I mentioned (and as we should be used to by now), the servers are getting hammered:

The 2018 Steam Summer Sale will run until 10 am PT/1 pm ET on July 4.

Update: I almost forgot.