You can formally link related games by defining and setting a franchise for each game, movie, software, or VR experience, and then linking each to a franchise homepage. …

These controls will let creators specify the set of games to draw from, as well as the sort order for those games, and set one or more of the included games to force to the front of the list. …

[table] [tr][td][doclink=features/common_redist][/doclink][/td][td]Steam provides an easy way to opt into installing certain shared components which are required for the proper operation of your game or application, including many versions of the Microsoft Visual C++ redistributables.[/td][/tr] [tr][td][doclink=features/game_notifications][/doclink][/td][td]Steam Game Notifications is a system for delivering offline notifications to users for games that provide asynchronous multiplayer gaming, such as Chess.…

[/td][/tr] [tr][td][doclink=features/timeline][/doclink][/td][td]Timeline support allows a game to push game events to Steam for display alongside recorded video from the game. This makes it easier for users to find important moments in their gameplay so they can share those moments.…

[h4]Q: Is Advance Access right for my game?[/h4] A: Advance Access may not be right for all games. For example, games where there’s a competitive advantage to getting a head start could deeply impact user sentiment for the overall player base. …

[h4]Q: Can all editions of my game have Advance Access?[/h4] A: No. You can't have all editions of your game grant advance access because then you are essentially just releasing your game early. …

When downloaded, the Steam client will store all downloadable content under your game's Steam directory. Your game can choose to distribute each piece of content in one of two ways: [list] [*]The content can be included with your game files that are distributed to all game owners. …

[/list] See the [doclink=store/application/depots][/doclink] documentation for more information. [section]In-Game Purchasing[/section] Steamworks games can support in-game downloadable content, which allows a user to browse, purchase, and download new content without leaving the game. …

[url=https://store.steampowered.com/dlcforyou]Check out the DLC Hub[/url] for more details. [*][b]Your Game's Library Page [/b]- Your game's library page in Steam will prominently feature DLC that is new since the last time the player played the game. …

[/list] [section]Your Game's Library Page[/section] Your game's library page in Steam will prominently feature DLC that is new since the last time the player played the game. …

[h4]Do you want your game to be Peer-to-peer based or server based?[/h4] Depending on the type of game one or the other will likely make your game more enjoyable for users. …

You can read more about it in the [doclink=features/multiplayer/networking][/doclink] documentation. [subsection=gameservers]Steam Game Servers[/subsection] The Steam Game Servers API provides everything you need to create dedicated servers for your game. You can host these game servers yourself, or allow your community to host them for you. …

Plus, either hand-integrating content into your game or making your game load downloaded mods from disc. [/introblock] [section]Overview[/section] The Steam Workshop is designed as a place for your fans and community members to participate in the creation of content for your game. …

If you've got a game that customers are excited about, then they'll figure out ways of making the content for your game. But, as mentioned earlier, if you wish to support large scale modding of your game, you'll find it useful to release as much of your own development tools as possible to aid in the creation of content and modification of your game logic. …

Your upcoming game's release date in Steamworks serves two purposes: to tell players when they might expect your game, and to list your game on upcoming releases lists. …

[b]Q: Can I change the release date of my game?[/b] A: You can change the release date of your game up to two weeks prior to your specified date. Once you are within that two week window, your game will start showing up more in ‘upcoming releases’ lists. …

This uses the store tags applied to your games, so it can include both released and upcoming games in the set of recommendations. [*][b]Set of Creator Lists[/b] - If you had created any lists of games previously, we'll show them in this section automatically. …

(Note: You can change the settings to only show the newest events from the last X weeks.) [docimg=NEWS.png]NEWS.png[/docimg] [*][b]Carousel or grid of games[/b] - The basic building blocks for showcasing games. Easily add a set of games, organized as a grid or carousel. You can populate the set of games by manually entering individual games, or have it populate automatically based on criteria or filters. …

[section]How to follow a game[/section] Just below the screenshots on the game's store page, there is a button to follow the game. [docimg=doc_following.jpg]doc_following.jpg[/docimg] Following can also be done from the top of the game's community hub. …

The only place we display this follower count is as 'members' of your game group. You can see the follower count on the Manage Members page of your game: https://steamcommunity.com/games/<appid>/membersManage for any given AppID. …

When you are launching the game from the exe directly, outside of the Steam UI this file must be present and must contain a single line with the game's AppID (for your games, Valve will assign each an AppID, the example game's AppID is 480). When you ship your own game through Steam this file will not be needed as Steam will auto-detect your AppID when the game is launched. [*] [b]The application has failed to start because steam_api.dll was not found. …

[b]Early Access is not a pre-purchase[/b] Early Access is not meant to be a form of pre-purchase, but a tool to get your game in front of Steam users and gather feedback while finishing your game. Early Access titles must deliver a playable game or usable software to the customer at the time of purchase, while pre-purchase games are delivered at a future date. …

[/i] [/b]For example, there is no way you can know exactly when the game will be finished, that the game will be finished, or that planned future additions will definitely happen. Do not ask your customers to bet on the future of your game. …

Steps: [olist] [*] Create an increment-only stat for each skill axis you want to track through the 'Stats' tab for your game in the Steamworks Game Admin [*] In your game, retrieve the user's skill stat(s) by calling [api]ISteamUserStats::GetStat[/api] for each stat, then for use retrieved values when matchmaking [*] After a game has completed, update the user's skill stat(s) by calling [api]ISteamUserStats::SetStat[/api] for each stat followed by [api]ISteamUserStats::StoreStats[/api] [/olist] [section]Finding a game session matching by skill[/section] To create a lobby for users of a particular skill level, once a lobby has been created, the owner should add their skill stat(s) to the lobby metadata by calling [api]ISteamMatchmaking::SetLobbyData[/api]. …

[section]Dealing with low numbers of search results[/section] A common problem with other matchmaking systems is that a search can result in a low number of results, where it's hard to find any game let alone a well-matched one. This is common for multiplayer games where the game session has a strict start and end, like an RTS, without users being able to join a game in progress. …

[b]Q: Why do the top sellers lists include free to play games?[/b] A: Over time we've seen games utilize a wide variety of approaches to pricing. Traditionally our charts have only included premium games, but that was obscuring the hugely popular free or inexpensive games in which players go on to purchase season passes, huge expansions, or other forms of new content. …

Any logged in user can see their [url=https://store.steampowered.com/account/preferences/]store preferences page[/url]. The top selling list also has options for players to filter out games they already own, and to hide free to play games. [b]Q: My game sells DLC. Can a DLC show up on the top sellers lists?[/b] A: Yes! …

"Broad representation" means it includes a wide variety of games from the chosen topic and it includes a significant portion of the most popular games from the chosen topic. Note that some game genres — for example 'Action', 'Horror', 'Strategy,' etc — can include thousands of Steam games across a wide variety of subgenres, which makes them very hard to represent comprehensively. …

The broader your event's theme — for example "Platformer Games" — the more games you can potentially include, making it easier to meet the customer interest threshold. However, you'll also need more participating games to adequately represent your broader theme, as the 'Platformer' genre includes thousands of games across many subgenres. …

[section]Overview[/section] The Steam Input API is designed to allow you to easily enable [i]full support[/i] for Steam Input devices in your game. We define full support as the follows: [list] [*] Your game uses the proper controller-specific glyphs when showing in-game input prompts. [*] The Steam Input configurator screen uses in-game actions that the player performs in your game, instead of keys or buttons. [*] You've published an official configuration for the controllers you support. [*] Your game doesn't restrict the user's ability to customize their controls. …

Most games will have at least a distinct "Menu" and "In-game" action set, but many will need more. Does your game have any special cases like operating a vehicle or have specialized in-game menus like a map or inventory screen, those may also be useful to make into action sets. …

Voice data can also be sent, but needs to be sent using the [doclink=features/multiplayer/networking][/doclink] API. [*] Once the game is ready to launch, the users all join the game server, or connect to the user nominated to host the game, and then leave the lobby. …

If the user is already in a game, a [api]ISteamFriends::GameLobbyJoinRequested_t[/api] callback will be posted, which contains the Steam ID of the lobby the user wishes to join. …

What sets it apart from other games? It's often a good idea to mention the game genre. [*] [b]Save the Details for Later[/b] - The short description is generally not the best place to describe your game's full feature list or its narrative story arc. …

[/b] - The short description is limited to a few hundred characters and it's often read by potential players who are merely skimming through the Store to find their next game. You'll need to quickly encapsulate what your game is about but also pique enough interest to encourage further investigation.[/callout] [section]The 'About This Game' Section[/section] This is a longer-form section where you can describe your game in greater detail. …

[*][h4]Where do I find the commercial game licenses?[/h4] Commercial game licenses and special offers can be found on the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/pccafe/]PC Café Games page[/url] on Steam. …

Bulk discounts are set by the publisher of the game directly. [*][h4]Are all games on Steam available through the PC Café Program?[/h4] No, only games where the publisher/developer has expressly included them in our Café program, whether they are available for free or with a charge. …

[section]Overview[/section] The goal of the Steam in-game payment system is to provide an easy way for developers to sell arbitrary goods to users such that the user never has to leave the game experience. …

Whether you have a Free to Play game, or a game that is purchased upfront, there are common elements with any game that has in-game purchases that are useful to consider when working toward your launch on Steam. …