Steam Strategy Fest celebrates the spirit of out-thinking your opponents or planning ahead to achieve success with discounts and demos on current and upcoming strategy games of all kinds.
This event runs August 28 at 10:00 AM PDT (UTC-7) to September 4 at 10:00 AM PDT (UTC-7) and will include discounting, as well as sections for unreleased games and games with demos.
For general information about Steam themed sale events, including details on the selection and invitation process, ways to participate (discounts, demos, and upcoming releases), event visibility and promotion, in-event game visibility, and marketing materials permissions, please visit the
Steam Themed Sale Events parent documentation page.
Table of Contents
Important Dates
- July 10 - If additional opt-in has been requested by Valve: deadline to register for the event, opt-in to marketing materials permissions, enter a discount, and ensure you have at least one trailer set to public.
- August 24 - Trailer announcing the event launches, at which point you're welcome to share your participation in the event. Please see the asset kit below.
- August 28, 10am PDT - Event start; deadline to register for the event and enter a discount if you would like to participate with one, or opt out if you registered and your plans have changed.
Eligibility
Released games, unreleased games, demos, and free to play games are all welcome to participate (assuming the below eligibility criteria are met). Playtests are not currently included in Steam themed sale events.
This event highlights games built around out-thinking your opponents or planning ahead to achieve success and is targeted toward games primarily thought of as one of these types:
- RTS (including Action RTS)
- Strategy (including Turn-Based Strategy, Grand Strategy, and Strategy RPG)
- 4X
- Hex Grid
- Tower Defense
- City-Builder
- Tabletop
- Card Game
- Board Game
Participating games must have strategy as the primary game mechanic and typically feature additional mechanics and/or elements including:
- Strategic thinking and planning multiple steps ahead
- Directing action by issuing indirect orders rather than directly controlling a character or unit
- Complex decision trees
- Gameplay is generally from a top-down perspective, though some games switch perspective for portions of the game
Examples of games that may not include strategy (as described above) as the primary game mechanic and thus may not be eligible include:
- Management sims (usually more ‘simulation’ oriented)
- Colony sims (usually more management oriented)
- Pure Puzzle games
- Simulator games
- Visual Novels
- Roguelike Dungeon Crawlers
- JRPGs
- Political Simulators
- Simple Board Games/Card Games
Check your list of eligible games here:
https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/sale_strategy_2023Asset Kit
Download the below kit of images and templates to use on your own social media channels when telling your fans about your participation in this event. These assets are designed to work well on various platforms and you're welcome to use them to let players know you'll be participating, which you may do after the official event trailer announcing the event launches (typically four days prior to event start; please reference
Important Dates above).
Download here: COMING SOON
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I haven't received an email invitation and have a game I believe fits the eligibility criteria described above. How can I confirm whether my game has been invited and request an invitation if it has not been invited?A. If you haven't received an email invitation and believe you have a game that fits the eligibility criteria described above, please check:
If your game is not found via the paths above and you believe it meets the eligibility criteria, please
contact us here.
If your game was found via the paths above but you didn't receive an email, please check your Steamworks communication preferences (instructions available in the
Steam Themed Sale Events parent documentation page).
Q. Do I need to register my game before entering a discount?A. Yes, you need to do the following things in order:
- Follow the link in the invitation email, or click this link to see your eligible games and register each: https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/sale_strategy_2023
- Once a game is registered, you can then enter discounts on the Discount Management page: https://partner.steamgames.com/promotion/discounts/dashboard/
Q. Will there be livestreaming as part of this event?A. Livestreaming will not be featured on the sale page, but you're welcome to livestream on your own game's store page as you wish.
Q. I've changed my plans. How do I cancel my registration?A. Just return to the registration page for your game by inserting your appID at the end of this URL
https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/sale_strategy_2023/<appid> and deselect the checkbox at the very bottom of the page to remove your game from the event.
For general information about Steam themed sale events and FAQs, please visit the
Steam Themed Sale Events parent documentation page.
Need Help?
Contact us here if you have questions regarding this event.
