[section]Overview[/section] In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps required to broadcast your game on the Steam storefront. [subsection]Before You Begin[/subsection] [callout]Note: Games marked as "Adult-Only" cannot be streamed on the Steam store.…

[/callout] [docimg=stream2.png]stream2.png[/docimg] [*]Enter Your Game's AppID You can see your game’s App ID by visiting your game’s App landing page in Steamworks or going to your game’s Steam store page--your appID is in the URL. …

Within the Steam Sales & Activations Reports website, you can find stats on the refunds of your game, including the notes that players provide when they request a refund. You can use this information to help figure out if there is particular work you can do on your game to address bugs, balance gameplay, or better set player expectations ahead of time. …

[subsection]Refund Rate[/subsection] The refund rate is simply the number of units returned in a given period divided by the number of units purchased in that period. Refund rates can vary considerably from game to game depending on that game's history, launch, price, player expectations, and many other factors. The reasons that players indicate then are useful for understanding some of the factors that might go into the refund rate your game has. …

Steam keys are not intended to be used for ongoing crowdfunding (“slacker backer” or Late Pledge campaigns) prior to your game’s availability for purchase on Steam. If you have questions about running a pre-purchase for your game using Steam keys, please reach out to us directly. …

[list][*]If you’d like to run a larger-scale beta test ahead of your game’s launch, please use the Steam Playtest feature. You can request Steam Keys for your playtest app.[/list] [b]Q: Why was my key request denied?…

While reviews from all the above situations will be listed and readable, not all reviews count toward the game's review score. Only reviews posted from an account that has purchased on Steam and played the game will count toward the review score for that game. …

Some customers are basing their review on practices or data not related to the game. Is that allowed?[/b] A. Yes. Steam reviews tend to be a reflection of how happy customers are with the game itself as well as the value proposition, the business practices, and the experience of being part of that game’s community. …

Developers and publishers can create a customized homepage page for their organization to display all the games made or published by that organization. There are a variety of ways to customize your homepage, and you'll be able to link all your individual games to your homepage. …

The franchise field should only be used for the purpose of organizing titles within a franchise; a set of games that share a common creative universe or intellectual property. Eg. "Left 4 Dead" is a franchise of two games. "Valve Games" is not a franchise. …

This will affect both Pay for Purchase titles on the Steam store and In-Game sales made through the [doclink=features/microtransactions]In-Game Purchasing/Microtransaction[/doclink] APIs. [section]Pay for Purchase Titles[/section] The new currency prices need to be approved by you for everything sold on the Steam store in order for us to continue to sell your titles in the affected territories. …

The pricing tool is only available for users in your partner group that have the "Manage Pricing and discounts" permission. [section]Free to Play and In-Game Sales[/section] You have two choices for sales made within game and we believe strongly that option #1 will be better for your game and customers. …

We’ve introduced some tools with the goal of providing valuable information to Steam users about your game. [section][b]REVIEWS[/b][/section] Reviews are used to provide information to users on how 3rd party organizations have thought about your game. These usually include a review score, a detailed written review of the game, and potentially some marketing quotes from the organization that you want to highlight for your game. Adding a review is not mandatory, but some developers find it useful in marketing their game. …

[section=Description]Description[/section] The Inventory Service can be used in two ways - either server-less or with the addition of a trusted server that knows game state. Without a game server, the game client can communicate directly to the steam service to retrieve users inventory contents, consume and exchange items, and receive new items granted as an effect of playtime. …

Note that while your item visibility is set to Private in the Steam Economy Settings, only accounts in your Steamworks Partner group will be able to access your items in-game. [*] [b]Download Users Inventory[/b] Have your game client download the users inventory by calling [api]ISteamInventory::GetAllItems[/api]. …

Steam Next Fest is a great time to get your unreleased game in front of potential players and start building your audience. What follows are some tips you may find useful for how to go about interacting with fans, making sure your game is visible, and how to get the most out of your participation in Steam Next Fest. …

If you don't select any categories, your game cannot appear in the 'By Genre' or 'By Feature' sections. Check out the developer preview page to see where your game is set to appear, and then consider the categories and sections that exist within Next Fest. …

[callout]For new titles we no longer recommend using the Steam Workshop for managing official game configurations. Instead recommend to use [doclink=features/steam_controller/action_manifest_file][/doclink] bundled with your game depots as they are easier to update for developers and manage differences within game-branches or when launching the game via the IDE for local development. …

You'll need to release your new game update and make your configuration the official one. Official configurations are automatically loaded when a player launches your game for the first time. …

To test your game’s Proton compatibility, you will need a Linux environment. You can install Linux and Steam on a machine to test, or request a developer kit once they are available (limited quantities). …

(You don't have to make any changes to the game executable, just include the new files in the depot contents.) [/olist] [*][subsection]BattlEye[/subsection] Proton supports BattlEye and BattlEye-enabled games. …

At this time, we are working with a select group of partners for releasing games on Steam China. A prerequisite to publishing games on Steam China is receiving Chinese government approval for your game. Upon receiving approval, the Chinese publisher of your title will be issued an ISBN number, which will be displayed on your Steam China product page. Please note this prerequisite does not apply to non-gaming applications, which can be directly self-published. If you have an existing ISBN number for your game, are currently undergoing the formal approval process with a Chinese publisher, or would like to publish a non-gaming app on Steam China, please [url=https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing?…

For unreleased games, setting a build live should have no impact on customers, since the game is only owned by the Steam accounts in the Steamworks partner account (or by anyone who has redeemed a Steam key for your game). …

Note that if you wish for branch contents to remain private, you should set your branch password [i]before[/i] setting a build live on the branch. [docimg=betapassword_2.png]betapassword.png[/docimg] To test game content from branches other than Default, right-click on the game in the Steam client and select [b]Properties[/b]. In the properties window select the [b]Game Versions & Betas[/b] tab on the left. …

[list] [*][b]Revenue[/b] - The threshold shifts over time based on how many games are demonstrating strong revenue, but typically the games that qualify sustainably reach tens of thousands of dollars in revenue per month. …

Also, don't forget to activate an update visibility round to support the content update of the game, if applicable. [*] [b]Stream to your store page. [/b] Livestreaming is a good way to drive engagement and showcase your game. Take advantage of the increased traffic by showcasing your game with a live broadcast. …

[section]Linux Overview[/section] Steam for Linux is now available to all Steam users. With a growing catalog of Linux-supported games and an active Steam for Linux community group, it's a good time to port your game to Linux. Developing a Linux game for Steam can be challenging for developers coming from a Windows or macOS development background. …

This is the approach used by older Valve Source games such as Team Fortress 2 and Counter-Strike: Source. If you choose OpenGL then we recommend using the core functionality in OpenGL 3.0 for your game. …

Many game engines use "pack" files to coalesce game assets, and improve load times by allowing more efficient disk access. In general, this works well with SteamPipe. …

Once the game becomes officially released, Steam will decrypt the preloaded content and the user can play the game after the decryption process. …

The user can change the hotkey and other screenshot settings that will take effect in any game they play in Steam by going to Settings -> In-Game. [docimg=screenshot_hotkey.png]screenshot_hotkey.png[/docimg] [subsection]Screenshot Uploader[/subsection] Upon quitting a game the Screenshot Uploader will automatically open with all of the screenshots that were taken during the previous session. …

If the user uploads any screenshots they will be visible on their community profile, and your games community hub. [section]Steam Screenshots API[/section] The Steamworks SDK provides access to [api]ISteamScreenshots[/api], and enables you to use advanced features and integrate the Steam Screenshots system right into your game for the best experience for your customers. …

This gives your title the biggest opportunity to create buzz and visibility at a point where customers can actually play the game and share their excitement with their friends. Customers playing your game also means those customers’ friends are seeing them launch the game and post screenshots, discuss in the forums, etc., which can drive those other users to check out the game themselves and take advantage of the limited-time discount. …

This way, you can let customers know the title is coming to Steam and point them to the store page where they can [doclink=marketing/wishlist]wishlist[/doclink] your game. This will also enable the [doclink=/features/community]Community Hub[/doclink] where you can begin discussing your upcoming title with Steam users, and a News Hub where you can publish [doclink=/marketing/event_tools]news and announcements[/doclink] for your game. …

[subsection]APIs covered in this document[/subsection] [h4]Session Tickets[/h4] Session Tickets are signed tickets that can be used to verify a user's identity between the user's game client and any number of other game clients (such as in a peer-to-peer multiplayer session) or to a listen/dedicated game server (using the [api]ISteamGameServer[/api] API). …

[/doclink] [h4]The key controls which version of the software is unlocked[/h4] Each version of your game should have its own AppID. From the game client, call [api]ISteamUser::GetAuthSessionTicket[/api] and then use [webapi]ISteamUserAuth/AuthenticateUserTicket[/webapi] with [webapi]ISteamUser/CheckAppOwnership[/webapi] to verify ownership. …

You'll find a section on that tab that lets you select and order your game bundles. [subsection=visibilitylimits]Limits to Bundle Visibility[/subsection] There are two forms of visibility limitations for bundles on Steam: [olist] [*][b]Game Page Visibility[/b] - A maximum of three bundles can appear on any given game store page. …

The revenue and units for sales of a bundle are currently just included in the sales indicated for each individual product sold (by package). So, if Game A and Game B were sold together in a bundle, the sale would appear as 1 unit of Game A and 1 unit of Game B. The CSV from the Sales & Activations Reports portal will also indicate if a package sale was recorded as being sold in a bundle. …