Steamworks Documentation
Creating and Configuring Deluxe Packs

Overview

This provides information and best practices for configuring and managing Deluxe Editions for your product. This is sometimes called Special Editions or Soundtrack Editions.

Deluxe Editions can be very successful on Steam if you have quality content (In-game items, DLC, Soundtracks, Artwork, etc...) to add to the base game. We recommend that you offer the Deluxe Edition at a price slightly above, but still relatively close to the base game price.

You can also add Deluxe Editions of your title after launch, when you have more content available to make it a compelling offer.

Parts of a Deluxe Edition

A Deluxe Edition is typically comprised of the base game plus some additional content. In most cases you will also want to provide a path for customers to upgrade from your base game to add on the Deluxe Edition content. This section describes common components of Deluxe Editions.

To create a Deluxe Edition, you will need:
  • A DLC appID - This DLC item will actually contain the deluxe content or be used to check ownership in the case where the content is included in the base application's depots. Please see Downloadable Content (DLC) for details on creating and configuring your DLC.
  • A new DLC package - This DLC package will be used if your customers buy your base game first and then later wish to purchase the deluxe content. This is created automatically when you create a new item of DLC and will release automatically when you release your DLC.
  • A new Deluxe Bundle - This bundle will combine the base game and the deluxe content together for a discount percentage that you define. Please see Bundles for more details.

Configuring a Deluxe Edition

There are two main ways that Deluxe Editions can be configured. It will depend on what is right for the content and nature of your game:
  1. DLC as ownership check -In this configuration, the base application includes all the necessary content, including any deluxe content. The base application then checks if the customer owns a specific DLC appID and unlocks the associated content based on that ownership. Use BIsSubscribedApp to check for ownership of the specific DLC appID.

    This configuration is most commonly used in multiplayer games where everyone in the game or on the server needs access to all assets in order for them to be rendered.
  2. DLC contains deluxe content - In this configuration, the deluxe content files will be included in a separate depot that is granted to customers that have bought or activated the deluxe edition.

    This is the easiest to configure, and is great for cases where you want to distribute an art book or soundtrack, or any content that consists mainly of content delivered to the customer's hard drive.