Steam – Will games played with an EA Play subscription drop Steam Trading Cards

I'll explain this in two parts:

The Green box highlights a F2P game utilizing a Micro-Transaction model. As you can see, it says "no card drops remaining". But I can get more if I purchase any item from the store in increments of $9.00 (ie I spend $18.00, I get 2 cards). Thus, for games like TF2, you don't necessarily have to trade to get a badge Lvl2+ (but is advisable).

If you look at the red box, however, since Bit.Trip Runner2 is a paid game, it features a permanent drop counter. Meaning, once the 3 card drops I have left are given, there will be no more card drops, by playing the game. Once you've received all possible card drops, you may receive a booster pack, which contains 3 cards, either basic or foil. The rate at which these booster packs appear in your inventory depends on your steam level and as game badges are crafted by the community. Keep this in mind if you plan to sell or trade those cards out.

Associated question: How do trading card booster packs drop?

Yes,I bought an item for Dota 2 online rather than in-game shop and my progress towards the card increased,don't see why it would be different for TF2.

When you buy items online the system asks you to log-in with your steam account to finish purchase;in-game store is essentially just a simple game web browser to display the original online store(Why?It is easier to maintain one store than 2).So in the end whether you buy something online or in-game it goes thru the same account and the same system.

Also the system is retroactive,meaning all things you bought before trading cards will be counted as you bought them now.So the system will checks your receits and they are the same for both stores.

If you want to check for yourself you don't have to spent 9$,you can purchase the cheapest item you find and then check if you "progress towards next card" has increased.