Free Steam Red Herring badge + 100 XP (Steam Holiday Sale 2015)

I think this will expire at the end of the Holiday Sale 2015, i.e. 4/1/2016 PST. Do this as soon as you can.

EDIT: SPOILERS! (if you're trying to solve the ARG yourself)

Get the "hidden" Steam badge, Red Herring, and 100 XP by completing the following steps:

  1. Open Steam in your web browser: http://store.steampowered.com/
  2. Log in to your Steam account.
  3. Turn off Adblock Plus or any other ad blockers.
  4. Open the store page for Ikaruga: http://store.steampowered.com/app/253750
  5. Type in the Steam search box: search
  6. Press Enter
  7. A text box appears. Type: 1v7531
  8. Click OK.
  9. The page will refresh and you'll see your new badge.

If the page doesn't refresh then try again but at Step 7 try typing in the code, don't copy/paste from here.

It seems that some people are having issues with it working on Firefox. Try another browser. Others reporting works in Google Chrome.

Don't forget that increasing your Steam XP increases your booster pack drop rate.

Source: How to get the Red Herring Steam Badge (Holiday Sale 2015 ARG)

Background
Valve is running a hidden mystery game in the form of an ARG (alternate reality game) in conjunction with the Holiday Sale 2015. The clues are in the pages on the comic. Some very smart people in the /r/steamsaledetectives reddit have found and solved all the puzzles.

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Comments

  • im lost at step 4

    • +1

      when you're on that page go to the steam search bar and plug in 'search'

      • That works too. Updated steps. :)

        @dylanando,
        I mean, just start typing when you get to that page.

        • Now i seee, Forgot password. Couldnt be bothered now lol. Almost though!

  • +3

    So who's been able to get the badge?

    • +1

      I did. Followed the instructions and it was easy as.

      Proof: http://steamcommunity.com/id/djkizza/badges/24

      • +1

        Good job. Now go do 7 more tasks in your Community Ambassador badge to level it up to Lvl 3 and +500XP. :)

    • +1

      Confirm it works.. And used iPad!

  • +1

    Worked, thanks OP

  • +1

    Thanks OP. This is some spooky stuff Valve have got going on here

  • nope, not working for me, comes up with a page that tells me results of 'search'

    • Make sure you're logged in to your Steam account, and ad-blockers are disabled. If still no go then instead of typing in the Search box, just type "search" when you reach that page (i.e. you won't see the text as you type) and then press Enter key.

    • +1

      Same thing with firefox but worked in chrome

      • +1

        Worked in Firefox for me.

        • Yeah I installed chrome and it worked, didn't for firefox even though ad blocker was disabled, I even got the window to type in the code…it just didn't link me to the badge page

  • +2

    Hi, This did not work for me when using Firefox v39, however it did when using Google Chrome v47.0 (Up to date)

    • +2

      Update your Firefox, if only for the security fixes! Currently v43.0.3.

  • +1

    This doesn't work if you have Adblock installed, make sure it's not running when attempting.

    Also the full list of clues that have been discovered is here

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l1Ojpyu2NAw8oLk0Hqmm91sg…

    • I already noted that at step 3: Turn off any ad blockers.

      I'll edit it to mention Adblock, just to be sure.

  • +1

    Thanks op!

  • +1

    Thanks OP.
    Only worked with Google Chrome, tried a few times with the latest Firefox + Adblock disabled (Everywhere).

    • It seems quite a lot of you are having issues with Firefox. (Just tried again and still worked. Weird.) I'll update OP about this.

  • never turning off adblocker…especially for some gimmicky steam stuff.

    • +1

      Your time must be precious

    • +1

      You must really hate all the ads for games they keep serving up. ;)

      Seriously, Steam doesn't have any ads on their site, Vlaka. But each to their own.

  • +3

    +1 Op, those redditors must have a scary amount of free time to work all this out.

  • +1

    never realized I was level 9.

    • Quickly get to level 10 to increase your booster pack drop rate. If you haven't already done them, the Pillar of Community/Community Ambassador/Community Leader tasks will get you there.

      • I have no idea what language you are speaking.

        • +1

          Hahaha! :)

          In the Steam client, go in to your Badges page. There will be a badge called either Pillar of the Community or Community Ambassador or Community Leader, depending upon how many tasks you have performed. Click on that badge. You will see there's a list of tasks to perform. Do them to complete/level up that badge and gain some pretty easy XP. From memory you need only a max of 100XP to level up from 9 to 10. Completing the lowest level of that badge will give you 100XP.

  • +1

    Not sure if this is the reason why it wasn't working for me but when I copied and pasted 1v7531 it didn't work (and I didn't copy any spaces) but when I typed it manually it did.

    • Thanks, updated OP.

  • +1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlB1eI-qBKQ

    Here is a video tutorial that i made if anyone needs help :)

    • Turn your mic up. Apart from that, "I'm lovin' it". ;)

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