[section=build]SteamPipe Builds and Patch Notes[/section] When submitting a new build for your game via SteamPipe, a small prompt will automatically appear to encourage you to also post a patch note for your customers. This prompt lets you easily submit your patch notes inlines at the point after submitting the build. Often developers will use this to write a bullet point list of the changes made. Patch notes following your build updates is helpful for your customers to realize you are continuing work on and improve your game. [docimg=41b67b4a94e6487c5e07c6085dbb9d63d8d9e166.jpg]41b67b4a94e6487c5e07c6085dbb9d63d8d9e166.jpg[/docimg] You can always use the regular event editor to post the patch notes at a later time. …

Whether you choose to integrate our anti-cheat APIs or use your own solution, make sure you give your customers proper warning that such a system exists and that you have UI ingame that clearly explains the ban. For an introduction to anti-cheat and general best practices, we recommend that you watch the [url=http://steamcommunity.com/devdays]Steam Dev Days[/url] talk "Anti-Cheat for Multiplayer Games" ([docfile=AntiCheat.pdf]slides[/docfile]) https://www.youtube.com/watch?…

ref=3784-QLBM-5731]Family Library Sharing[/url], the ban is also applied to the actual owner of the game. [*] The user will not be eligible for an automatic refund [/list] More details can be found in our customer facing FAQ: [url=https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6899-IOSK-9514]Banned by Game Developer (Game Ban)[/url]. …

A depot is a logical grouping of files which are all delivered to a customer as a single group. Depots are uniquely identified by a [b]Depot ID[/b]. When a customer installs an app, one or more depots are downloaded and "mounted" on their local drive, according to the rules outlined in the [doclink=#depot_mounting_rules][/doclink] below. …

[docimg=ArtworkOverride_Config.jpg]ArtworkOverride_Config.jpg[/docimg] [*]With your new temporary artwork override selected from the drop-down, you can drag and drop your images into the blue upload box and click Upload. You’ll see your new custom images in the page below. Then, publish your changes and your capsule art will automatically override during your selected timespan. …

[/olist] Artwork Overrides work with localized assets just like normal capsule art, so you can even localize your bespoke capsules to make your event or update understandable to as many customers as possible. [section]Best Practices & Tips[/section] Some common scenarios you may encounter: [olist] [*]It can be a great idea to time your content updates and artwork overrides with a game discount. [*]If you are coordinating an artwork override with a discount, you should schedule your artwork override to start 5 minutes before the discount kicks off to ensure that your new artwork gets picked up and included in any wishlist email that goes out. [*]The Header capsule is used in the Daily Deal spot and in many lists throughout the store. [*]The Main capsule is used on wishlist emails. …

For this reason, Free Weekends are typically combined with other kinds of curated discounts, which are promoted to customers on Steam, for example a [b]Daily Deal[/b] or [b]Weekend Deal[/b]. While there aren't exact rules, as a base guideline we tend to focus on the most-played or best-selling games on Steam for these kinds of promotions. …

Keep in mind that players have a wide range of free-to-play games and free demos available on Steam every day, so temporarily offering a paid game for free doesn't guarantee interest from customers. In general, Free Weekends tend to perform best for games with lots of replayable content or games with strong multiplayer elements that benefit from an influx of new players (such as improved matchmaking or enhanced social gameplay). …

If you’re interested in releasing a beta version of your game that any customer can buy, check out [doclink=store/earlyaccess]Early Access[/doclink]. There are two common ways of setting up testing for external audiences: [olist] [*]Using the Steam Playtest feature. [*]Using the main game's App ID with release override keys. …

Instead of having its own separate store page, your Steam Playtest signup will live right on your main game, so that customers can sign up and access the playtest but still Wishlist or Follow the main game. Check out the [doclink=features/playtest][/doclink] documentation for the full set-up instructions, configuration scenarios, best practices and FAQs. …

[/td][/tr] [tr][td][doclink=sitelicense/users][/doclink][/td][td]Click here if you are a PC Cafe or VR Arcade customer and would like more information.[/td][/tr]…

. [*] [b]The description will need to be detailed and coherent.[/b] It's important that customers know what to expect before they purchase your product. You should not include links to other websites from this section. [/list] [subsection]Reviewing Early Access Store Page[/subsection] For titles that are releasing in Early Access, you will need to answer all the questions in the Early Access section. In this section, you want to give customers a clear expectation of what the current version of your game contains, and what features and content still need to be added before the game is considered complete. …

[subsection]Situation[/subsection] You've got a released game with customers already playing it and you need to rename your exe. [subsection]Solution[/subsection] The order of operations can matter here, as setting a build live doesn’t go through the publish process but changing the launch options does. …

The [b]Steam PC Café Program[/b] enables PC Cafés, Schools, Libraries, and other organizations to let customers and students use their own Steam accounts onsite while also giving them access to any games or software purchased by the organization for use by end users. …

[section]Steam Deck™ Branding Requirements and Logos[/section] Last Updated: May 2,2022 [docimg=300.jpg]300.jpg[/docimg] [docfile=steamDeck_guidelines_042922.pdf]Click here[/docfile] to view the Steam Deck Brand Guidelines [docfile=Steam_Deck_Logo_TM.eps]Click here[/docfile] to download Steam Deck logo files [section]Steam Early Access Branding Requirements[/section] We work hard to make sure that customers understand what they are buying when they get an Early Access title on Steam. We feel it is equally important that customers buying Steam Early Access titles in other places also understand what they are getting. …

As part of the release process on Steam, you will be required to deliver various graphical assets for your product. These assets are displayed in customer's libraries and in the community. [section]Store Capsule Rules[/section] [b][color=#ca5029]IMPORTANT NOTE:[/color][/b] Please see [doclink=store/assets/rules]Graphical Asset Rules[/doclink] for important rules on what can and cannot be included in your graphical asset capsules. …

Do not include quotes or other strings of text beyond the title of your game. The art should immediately tell the customer something important about your product. The logo should be easily legible against the background. [b]Size:[/b] 600px x 900px (an additional half-size 300px x 450px PNG will be auto-generated from larger file) [section=header]Library Header [color=#ca5029]Required[/color][/section] The library header is used in different places within the Steam Client Library. …

Steam has a set of tools for creating and configuring a custom sale landing page that you can use to highlight games for a special sale, game festival, or digital companion for a physical convention. …

It runs SteamOS, Valve's operating system that's optimized for gaming, with fast suspend / resume and cloud saves. Steam Machine has a discrete semi-custom AMD desktop class CPU and GPU, and is roughly 6 times more powerful than Steam Deck. Steam Machine dev-kit units are not currently available. …

By default, all tags submitted by the game to Steam will show up listed for customers to see in the right-hand column of your application's Workshop home page. These tags are defined with [doclink=api/ISteamUGC#SetItemTags]ISteamUGC::SetItemTags[/doclink] when an item is uploaded from your game or submission tool. …

[/olist] [*]We understand that partners are excited to talk about large updates and seasonal events, and customers are often excited to see these reflected in the game capsules. While this content is not allowed in base capsule assets (see rule #1 above), we do support this use case through Capsule Artwork Overrides with the following constraints: [olist] [*][b]Must use Artwork Overrides[/b] - When including text on a graphical asset, this MUST be uploaded as an Artwork Override with a length limit of one month. [*][b]Must localize any text[/b] - Any text included on a graphical asset MUST be localized into at least the same set of languages supported by the game. [*][b]Only to describe new content that is currently available for Steam users[/b] - The only acceptable additional text on a game capsule are words describing a current major update to the game (new update), content that is currently available to a user (new seasonal event, battle pass, DLC), or similar new content for the game. …

Press review quotes, press review scores, and special awards each have dedicated spaces on Steam store pages where it can be presented consistently and where customers can expect to find that information. You can check out our [doclink=store/accolades]Store Page Accolades documentation[/doclink] for details. …

[section]Steam Tags[/section] In addition to helping Steam users quickly learn about your game, tags help Steam determine where your game should be displayed to customers. We began requiring at least 5 tags be applied to a title before its launch on Steam, but we recommend you add up to 20. In addition to displaying tag data on store pages, a robust set of tags helps Steam serve better results when users: [list] [*]Browse genres & categories [*] Search with tags [*]Explore tag-driven recommendations [*]Utilize tag-driven dynamic Collections in the Library and more [/list] Below is some information on how tags work and some tools you can use to manage them. …

So, as a recap, start setting tags and their weight by using the Tag Wizard. Customers will also tag your game and those tags will be mixed in with the tags you had set with the Tag Wizard. As customers add more tags, the weight for those tags will increase. …

[/section] Advance Access is a Pre-Purchase incentive, in which customers that Pre-Purchase a "Deluxe" package(s) of your game are given access to the game earlier than customers that Pre-Purchase the "Standard" (most basic) package. …

[url= https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/earlyaccess] Steam Early Access [/url] enables you to sell your game on Steam while it is still being developed, and provides context to customers that a product should be considered "unfinished." Early Access is a place for games that are in a playable alpha or beta state, are worth the current value of the playable build, and that you plan to continue to develop for release. …

[section]Best Practices[/section] DLC can be a great way to offer value to the customers that are interested in investing deeper in the product, it can also have non-monetary costs of customer perception that are harder to measure. It might not be a good idea to launch with a DLC on day 1 as customers may perceive that the full game was ready to release but you chose to take away content from the game to make more money through a paid DLC. …

Over time, we've come to realize that Google's tracking solutions don't align well with our approach to customer privacy, and the migration to GA4 felt like the right time to end our support and focus instead on building the most useful parts of aggregated reporting into Steam itself. …