[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=Managing_Updates]Managing Updates[/section] After your app releases to customers, your customers will be receiving the build marked as the Default build. When uploading a new build it's always a good idea to test it before shipping it to your customers, for more information on how to successfully do this see [doclink=store/testing][/doclink]. …

Each build will merge itself with the already existing install image. [subsection]Customizing a Retail install disk[/subsection] See [doclink=sdk/goldmaster]Customizing a gold master[/doclink] for more details on customizing your retail install disk. …

[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. …

[subsection]Editor[/subsection] Once you've picked a category, you'll find a robust set of tools to create and customize your event. This includes a new type of header image at the top of your event (which gets used in a few other places), and a snappy preview mode that lets you quickly switch between editing and previewing your event detail page. …

This post-time will be used by Steam algorithms to determine whether a Steam customer has "seen" the event or not. [*]Moving the start time of an event might confuse customers, as calendar entries a player manually creates or downloads may become out-of-sync with the actual event. …

[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. …

We think customers are better off if a developer can focus on the one best version of their game, rather than making and maintaining many separate builds-- especially if one build ends up as a second-class experience missing some testing or updates. …

[/list] [section=audio_recommendations]Audio[/section] [subsection=volume_controls]Custom Volume Controls[/subsection] [h4]Why is this tag important to players?[/h4] Players may need to reduce distracting sounds so that they can focus on sounds that they need to hear. …

Providing options for background opacity, text color and size can allow players to customize the subtitles for their comfort. Players can look for this tag to know that they can enable clear, readable subtitles for all dialog. …

We strongly recommend that you do not turn off this feature, as it is very valuable for customers that have left the PC without logging out of their Steam account. If you do choose to deactivate this feature, we recommend that you let your customers know. …

We are allocating a portion of our Steam Deck LCD units for partners to test their titles. These are the same Steam Decks that are shipping to customers, there is no additional development software or hardware changes. Steam Deck dev kits are ready to ship, and we've opened up the Steam Deck Dev Kit request form. …

[b]See Also:[/b] [api]ISteamUGC::RemoveDependency[/api] [subsection=AddExcludedTag]AddExcludedTag[/subsection] [code=cpp]bool AddExcludedTag( UGCQueryHandle_t handle, const char *pTagName );[/code] [table] [tr][th]Name[/th][th]Type[/th][th]Description[/th][/tr] [tr][td][b]handle[/b][/td][td][apitype]ISteamUGC::UGCQueryHandle_t[/apitype][/td][td]The UGC query handle to customize.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]pTagName[/b][/td][td]const char *[/td][td]The tag must NOT be attached to the UGC to receive it.[/td][/tr] [/table] Adds a excluded tag to a pending UGC Query. …

[subsection=AddRequiredTag]AddRequiredTag[/subsection] [code=cpp]bool AddRequiredTag( UGCQueryHandle_t handle, const char *pTagName );[/code] [table] [tr][th]Name[/th][th]Type[/th][th]Description[/th][/tr] [tr][td][b]handle[/b][/td][td][apitype]ISteamUGC::UGCQueryHandle_t[/apitype][/td][td]The UGC query handle to customize.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][b]pTagName[/b][/td][td]const char *[/td][td]The tag must be attached to the UGC to receive it.[/td][/tr] [/table] Adds a required tag to a pending UGC Query. …

[section]Overview[/section] Custom configuration files can be included directly within your game depots for a number of benefits: [list] [*]Official configurations can be checked into Perforce or other revision control tools [*]Managing configurations between different branches of your game or between a public and private AppID is easier [*]Updates are atomic rather than being done via two publishing steps in Steamworks [/list] [section]Format[/section] The action manifest file is an extension of the [doclink=features/steam_controller/iga_file][/doclink] which includes an extra section containing a list of official configurations broken out by type: [code] "Action Manifest" { "configurations" { } "actions" { } "localization" { } } [/code] For information about the action and localization sections please see the [doclink=features/steam_controller/iga_file][/doclink] documentation. …

This is an example from the Steamworks SDK: [code] "configurations" { "controller_xboxone" { "0" { "path" "xbox_controller.vdf" } } "controller_steamcontroller_gordon" { "0" { "path" "steam_controller.vdf" } } } [/code] [subsection]Step 5 - Set the Steamworks settings[/subsection] To set your Steamworks settings in the partner site, navigate to the Steam Input settings. Next set the dropdown to "Custom Configuration (Bundled with game)" and enter the path where the action manifest is located: [docimg=gamebundledconfigdropdown.PNG]gamebundledconfigdropdown.PNG[/docimg] [section]Debugging a game that uses an Action Manifest File[/section] When running the game through Steam the Action Manifest file will automatically be pulled from your game depots. …

Promotions may involve other Steam products, or products/brands outside of Steam. These types of promotions are encouraged and many customers find value in them. However, under no circumstances is it okay to charge other developers to participate in a bundle or to sell access to a sale page or other page on Steam. [*][subsection]Paid Advertising Outside Steam[/subsection] Developers may want to run paid advertising campaigns to drive traffic to their Steam product pages. …