Video content shipping on Steam should be:
- Directly related to gaming.
- Accessory content for games sold on Steam.
- Accessory content for software sold on Steam.
Overview
Steam as a platform is well positioned to provide entertainment beyond games to our customers. With this in mind, Steam has developed a video platform based on the
MPEG-DASH Standard to allow delivery of both short- and long-form content to customers. We are inviting all Steam partners who have appropriate video content to use the Steam Video platform.
Platform Features
- Cross-platform support for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Steam OS and Steam Link in both Desktop and Big Picture
- Instantly watch video content without first downloading any files
- Native integration into the Steam Client
- No custom flash-wrapper application development required
- Adaptive Streaming automatically adjusts playback quality based on available bandwidth
- Closed Captions / Subtitles supported with FCC compliant caption formatting options
- Steam integration including watch time, discussions, reviews and trading cards.
- Controller support including Steam Controller and XInput Controller mapping configurations
- Advanced user features such as playback speed and keyboard shortcuts
- Industry standard DRM encryption using Google Widevine
- Alternate audio and video tracks for languages, alternate angles, aspect ratios, commentaries, etc.
- Purchase and Rental Sale Models
- Self-Ingestion and Publishing Process
- Playback in Virtual Reality HMDs via SteamVR Desktop Theatre
- Bundling opportunities across videos, games, software, music, etc.
- Native Episodic Content Support (Series, Seasons, Episodes, Bonus Content, etc.)
- Native Bonus Content / Extras
- Next Video Suggestion In Player
Getting Started
Follow the steps below to prepare your video content for release on Steam:
How do I get started adding video content to Steam if I'm not a Steamworks partner?
The first step is to email us at
video@valvesoftware.com and provide the following information:
- A short description of your video content and/or a link to a trailer or preview video.
- Please supply a Steam Account name that belongs to someone at your company with the authority to sign contracts and enter banking and tax information.
Steam Video Delivery Information
Please use the settings below to ensure quality and performance of your video on Steam.
Container
Video
- Codec: H.264
- Profile: High
- Level: 4.0 - 5.2 supported
- Bitrate: 10,000 - 20,000 Kbps supported.
- Frame Rates: up to 60 fps (must be progressive, non-interlaced)
- Resolution: Playback resolutions up to 1920x1080 are supported. During upload you can opt into removing black bars from your source content for better support of ultra-wide monitors.
Notes
- Prepare the video file exactly as the end user should experience the video.
- Do not leave lead-in or lead-out markers or title cards.
Audio
- Codec: AAC
- Bitrate: 192+ Kbps for Stereo, 320+ Kbps for 5.1 Surround.
- Sample Rate: 48,000 hz
- Channels: Stereo (L & R), Surround 5.1 (C, L, R, Ls, Rs, LFe)
Notes
- Please ensure 5.1 sound channels are mapped correctly (C, L, R, Ls, Rs, LFe).
- Steam does not require both Stereo and Surround unless the mixes are markedly different.
- When preparing alternate audio tracks (audio dubs, commentary tracks, etc.) the audio running time must be the same running time as the source video file.
- The language of the audio will be used to determine if an audio dub or subtitles should be automatically enabled. The language can be set on the Video Management page after the video has been ingested.
Captions
- Format: WebVTT (W3C Spec)
- Supported Languages: Arabic, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Spanish-Mexican, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.
- Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8)
Notes
- Subtitle and Caption files are uploaded directly into the Video Management section of your video app after the video file has been ingested successfully.
- Captions for the deaf or hard-of-hearing (SDH/CC) and Subtitles for languages are supported for all languages.
- Captions and subtitles must be uploaded in the WebVTT format. For format conversion tools, please see the Video Preparation Tools section for the program Subtitle Edit.
- WebVTT cue settings and {\an1-9} alignment options are supported. WebVTT Voices and Regions are not currently supported.
- Please ensure captions are time aligned for the video file being delivered. No commercial breaks and please use media time.
- We often find videos encoded at 23.976 fps have subtitles that are encoded at 24 fps and those subtitles will drift out of time over the course of playback. While other video platforms may correct these for you, Steam won't. Please ensure your subtitles are created at the same frame rate as your video itself.
Adobe Media Encoder Presets
Download these presets for Adobe Media Encoder CC to create compatible video files for Steam.
- H.264 Video (20MBs) with AAC 5.1 Audio (320Kbps)
- H.264 Video (20MBs) with AAC Stereo Audio (192Kbps)
- AAC 5.1 Audio Only (320Kbps) for Alternate Audio Tracks
- AAC Stereo Audio Only (192Kbps) for Alternate Audio Tracks
Bundling Video with Non-Video Content
Videos sold on Steam cannot be packaged directly with non-video content due to the different
Tax Withholding Rates. However, Bundling of video and non-video content can be done using
bundles on Steam.
For downloadable extras (soundtracks, art, etc.), please review the
Associated Software Files topic.
Video Preparation Tools
There are no requirements to use specific tools for preparing videos for Steam. However, here are a list of tools that have helped us.
- FFmpeg - Free, open source tool that can be used to encode video and audio for delivery to Steam.
- Adobe Media Encoder - Commercial application that can be used to encode video and audio for delivery to Steam.
- Subtitle Edit - Free, open source Subtitle editing tool with format conversion, time correction, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can customers download videos purchased on the Steam Video platform?
Not at this time.
- Can customers watch videos on their phones, tablets or other mobile devices?
Not at this time.
- Can I put free content on the video platform?
If it is strongly linked to your game and of sufficient length (more than 15 minutes), then yes. If you are planning to put it on YouTube anyway, then just link to that from your Store page.
- Can I restrict the countries video can be sold or played back in?
Steam has a global customer base and users expect global access to content. If country restrictions are required for your video content, please Contact Us so the restrictions can be set up before your video is released.
- Where can I find video content on Steam?
Videos appear just like games or software on Steam with their own store pages. All videos use a video icon to better identify in lists and search results. Click to visit the Steam Video Hub.
- Where can I find customer support information about Steam Video?
All video store pages automatically contain a link to the Steam Videos FAQ.
