Steam is an online store and digital service created by Valve Corporation. It was first introduced in September 2003 as a software program to automatically update Valve's video games. In late 2005, it began offering games from other companies as well. Steam provides features such as online game matching with anti-cheating tools, social networking, and game streaming. The Steam program includes tools for updating games, cloud storage for saving game data, and community tools like messaging, an in-game overlay, discussion boards, and a marketplace for virtual items. The online store also sells productivity software, game soundtracks, videos, and hardware made by Valve, such as the Valve Index and the Steam Deck.
In 2008, Steamworks was introduced. It is a set of tools for developers to add Steam features, such as digital rights management, to their games. Many game companies started selling their games on Steam that year. Steam was first made for Windows computers but was later adapted for macOS in 2010 and Linux in 2013. A mobile version of Steam for accessing online features was released for iOS and Android devices in 2012.
Steam became the largest online store for PC games. In 2013, it had about 75% of the market share, according to IHS Screen Digest. By 2017, total game sales on Steam reached about $4.3 billion, or 18% of all PC game sales globally, as reported by Steam Spy. By 2021, Steam had over 34,000 games and more than 132 million users who actively used the service each month. Steam's success led to the creation of Steam Machine computers in 2015, which included the SteamOS operating system and Steam Controller. Other products include Steam Link devices for streaming games locally and the Steam Deck, a handheld device designed for playing Steam games, released in 2022.
History
In the early 2000s, Valve wanted to improve how it updated its published games. At the time, users of multiplayer games often disconnected from online play for several days while installing large software updates. To solve this, Valve decided to create a platform that would automatically update games and add stronger tools to prevent illegal copying and cheating. Valve asked several companies, including Microsoft, Yahoo!, and RealNetworks, to help build this platform, but all declined.
Valve started developing its own platform in 2002, using the names "Grid" and "Gazelle." The Steam platform was officially announced on March 22, 2002, at the Game Developers Conference and made available for testing that same day. Before Steam, Valve had a publishing agreement with Sierra Studios. A 2001 version of the contract allowed Valve to sell its games digitally. In 2002, Valve sued Sierra and Vivendi Games, the parent company of Sierra, over a claim that the contract was broken. Sierra responded by suing Valve, saying that offering a digital store for its games violated the contract.
Steam officially left beta testing on September 12, 2003. In November 2004, Half-Life 2 became the first major game sold digitally on Steam, requiring users to install the Steam software to play retail copies. At this time, users faced problems due to legal disputes between Valve and Vivendi, who claimed that physical copies of games they published could not be activated because the game had not officially launched. These issues caused concerns about software ownership and led to server problems, similar to those seen during the release of Counter-Strike.
In 2005, third-party game developers began releasing their games on Steam, including Rag Doll Kung Fu and Darwinia. In May 2007, ATI included Steam in its GPU driver software and gave free copies of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch to owners of ATI Radeon graphics cards.
In January 2008, Nvidia added Steam to its GPU driver software and gave free copies of Portal: The First Slice to users of Nvidia hardware. In 2011, some Electronic Arts games, such as Crysis 2, Dragon Age II, and Alice: Madness Returns, were removed from Steam because the terms of their contracts prevented them from having an in-game store for downloadable content. These games were later released on the Origin service.
In 2019, Ubisoft announced it would stop selling future games on Steam, starting with Tom Clancy's The Division 2, because Valve refused to change its revenue-sharing rules. In May 2019, Microsoft began selling its games on Steam in addition to the Microsoft Store.
In 2020, Electronic Arts started selling some games on Steam and introduced its EA Play subscription service on the platform. In 2022, Ubisoft announced it would return to selling its recent games on Steam, beginning with Assassin's Creed Valhalla, stating it was "constantly evaluating how to bring our games to different audiences wherever they are."
By 2014, Steam sold about $1.5 billion worth of games annually. By 2018, the service had over 90 million monthly active users. In 2018, Steam’s network delivered 15 billion gigabytes of data, compared to less than 4 billion gigabytes in 2014.
Features and functionality
Steam is a service that lets users buy games and other software. Once purchased, these items are added to a virtual library where they can be downloaded and installed as many times as needed. At first, only Valve, the company that created Steam, could publish games on the platform because it controlled Steam’s database and tools. However, in May 2008, Valve released the Steamworks software development kit (SDK), which allowed other developers to integrate Steam into their games without needing Valve’s direct help.
Valve aimed to make traditional digital rights management (DRM) unnecessary by using product keys and other anti-piracy measures. In March 2009, Steamworks was updated with a feature called "Custom Executable Generation" (CEG). This feature creates unique, encrypted copies of a game’s files for each user, allowing them to install the game on multiple devices and make backup copies. To play the game, users must log into Steam to unlock the files. If a user is offline, they can still play the game if they previously logged in. Developers can choose to use other DRM systems or no DRM at all. For example, some Ubisoft games require a separate service called Uplay.
In September 2008, Steam added a feature called Steam Cloud, which automatically saves game progress and custom files on Valve’s servers. Users can access these files from any device with the Steam client. This feature can be turned off for specific games or accounts. In January 2022, Steam Cloud was updated to save game progress while a game is running, not just after it ends. This change helped users who use the Steam Deck portable device save their progress and put the device into a sleep mode. In May 2012, users could manage their game libraries from remote devices like phones or computers. Product keys sold by third-party retailers can be used on Steam, and users can buy redemption codes from other vendors to add games to their libraries. Steam also provides tools for selling and distributing downloadable content (DLC) for games.
In September 2013, Steam introduced a feature that lets users share most games with family members or close friends by authorizing other devices to access their library. Authorized users can install and play the game separately from the main account. Shared users can access saved games and achievements unless the main account is playing. If the main account starts a game while a shared account is using it, the shared user has a few minutes to save their progress or buy the game for their own account. In January 2014, a feature called Family View allowed parents to set limits on their children’s accounts, controlling access to Steam features and games. In September 2024, a more advanced version called "Steam Families" was released, letting up to six users share games from a single account, with separate game saves and profiles for each user.
Valve’s acceptable use policy allows it to block users from accessing their games or Steam services if they cheat in multiplayer games, sell accounts, or trade games to exploit price differences. Initially, blocked users lost access to all their games, but Valve later changed its policy to let blocked users keep their games but limit them to offline play and prevent them from using Steam Community features. Users also lose access if they refuse to accept changes to Steam’s license agreements, which last happened in August 2012. In April 2015, developers gained the ability to set bans on players for their games, which Valve enforces through the Steam platform.
The Steam client includes a digital store called the Steam Store, where users can buy games. Once purchased, a software license is permanently linked to the user’s account, allowing them to download the game on any compatible device. Licenses can be transferred to other accounts under certain conditions. Game content is delivered from servers worldwide using a special file transfer system. Games are sold in different currencies based on the user’s location. In December 2010, the Steam Store added support for WebMoney payments, and from April 2016 to December 2017, it accepted Bitcoin payments before stopping due to price fluctuations and fees. The Steam Store checks the user’s region, which may restrict game purchases based on release dates, classifications, or publisher agreements. Since 2010, users have helped translate parts of Steam into other languages. In October 2018, official support for Vietnamese and Latin American Spanish was added, along with 26 other languages. Steam also lets users buy in-game items for some games, like Team Fortress 2, and this option was expanded to third-party games in February 2015. Achievements, similar to those on the Xbox 360, were added in November 2007.
Valve works with developers and publishers to offer discounts on games daily and weekly, often themed around holidays, genres, or specific publishers. Some sales allow users to try games for free. Major sales, like the annual Summer and Holiday sales, feature large discounts and interactive elements. Since 2016, Steam has held a Lunar New Year sale, sometimes called the Chinese New Year sale, for users in Asian countries. This sale sometimes overlaps with the Spring Sale and is skipped in some years.
Users can also buy games or software as gifts for other Steam users. Before May 2017, gifted items were stored in a user’s inventory until they chose to send them. However, this led to issues where users in cheaper regions bought games to sell in more expensive regions. In August 2016, Valve changed its policy to require immediate gifting for games with anti-cheat features, which also helped prevent cheating. In May 2017, this rule was expanded to all games.
Storefront curation
Until 2012, Valve chose which games could be added to Steam. These games were either supported by major developers or made by smaller studios with proven success. After 2012, Valve tried to let more games join Steam without manually approving each one, as long as the games worked on the platforms the publisher said they would. In 2017, a Steam developer said Valve recognized that Steam had a near-monopoly on selling games for personal computers. Valve wanted to avoid deciding which games could be sold, so it worked to let developers add games to Steam without Valve’s direct control. However, Valve also knew that too much freedom could lead to problems, like difficulty finding good games or low-quality games being added.
In July 2012, Valve launched Steam Greenlight to help add games to the service. Users could vote on which games should be added. Developers shared information about their games, including early versions, and users could support them by voting. Valve would then add the games with the most votes. However, in the first week, users had trouble finding good games because many submissions were fake or inappropriate. To fix this, Valve required developers to pay $100 to list their games, and the money went to the charity Child’s Play. Some smaller developers worried about the cost, so Valve later let developers share ideas for free, with votes only visible to them. Valve also allowed non-game software to be voted onto Steam through Greenlight.
Many developers disliked Greenlight because few games were approved. In 2013, Valve’s leader, Gabe Newell, said the company wanted to remove itself as a bottleneck and planned to create an open marketplace. On Greenlight’s first anniversary, Valve added 100 games at once to show this change.
In June 2017, Valve replaced Greenlight with Steam Direct. Developers could now add games by filling out forms and paying a fee, which could be refunded if the game made over $1,000 in sales. Valve said the fee, between $100 and $5,000, would help reduce low-quality games and improve how users found games. Smaller developers worried about the cost, so Valve lowered the fee to $100 after listening to feedback. Valve also improved its discovery tools and added human help for finding games.
Valve stopped directly choosing games but tried new ways to help users find games they might like. It avoided paid ads or special placement, which could make some games unfairly promoted. Instead, it used computer programs to suggest games based on users’ past choices.
In 2014, Valve added the Discovery Update, letting users recommend games and sort them by popularity. This update helped increase Steam sales by 18% in 2015. A second update in 2016 gave users more control over what games they saw and let developers customize their game pages. By 2017, Valve reported that the number of games shown on the front page had increased by 42%, and more games were selling over $200,000 in their first 90 days.
In 2017, Valve added the Curator Connect program, letting users set preferences for games they liked and helping developers reach them directly. This reduced fake game keys and stopped users from tricking the system for free games.
To fight fake games, Valve added Steam Explorers, who check under-performing games to see if they are real or copied. Explorers can report fake games, and Valve may remove them.
In 2019, Valve launched Steam Labs to test new features, like an AI tool that suggests games based on a user’s history. A 2019 Discovery Update aimed to help niche games be seen more, but some indie developers said their games had less exposure.
In 2022, Valve introduced Steam Charts, which show the most popular and best-selling games on Steam, including data by week and month. Charts replaced an older statistics page.
Games and account policies
In June 2015, Valve introduced an official method for buyers to request refunds. Refunds were guaranteed within two weeks if the player had not spent more than two hours playing the game. Before June 2015, Valve did not allow refunds, except in special cases like problems with digital rights management or false advertising.
Games that are no longer available for purchase can still be downloaded and played by people who already bought them.
With the launch of Steam Direct, which removed Valve’s role in reviewing games before they were published on Steam, some games tried to trick Steam users. Starting in June 2018, Valve took action against games and developers it called "trolls." In September 2018, Valve explained that trolls on Steam "are not interested in making or selling games in good faith." For example, Valve’s Doug Lombardi said the game Active Shooter, which allowed players to take the role of a school shooter or a SWAT team member, was an example of trolling because it aimed to create conflict and outrage. Within a month of defining trolling, Valve removed about 170 games from Steam.
Valve also worked to stop "fake games" that could harm the trading card marketplace or unfairly raise a user’s Steam level. Some changes to Steam caused false flags for legitimate games, like Wandersong, which was flagged in January 2019 due to its nearly all-positive user reviews.
Valve removed games that broke its terms of service, such as copying game assets, manipulating reviews, misusing Steam tools, or acting aggressively toward Steam users.
Since 2022, Valve has banned games that use blockchain technologies, like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), because of concerns about their markets. In 2023, Valve allowed games using generative artificial intelligence but warned developers to ensure they had rights to the AI-generated content. By January 2024, Valve required games using AI-generated content to clearly state this on their store pages and explain how developers ensured the AI did not produce illegal material. In February 2025, Valve banned games that included paid advertising as part of gameplay.
Valve has also removed or threatened to remove games with inappropriate or mature content, though there was confusion about what counted as inappropriate. For example, House Party by Eek Games was removed after it included nudity and sexual scenes, which upset the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Eek Games later added censor bars to the game, allowing it to return to Steam. In 2018, Valve asked developers of anime-style games like HuniePop to address sexual content or risk removal, but later allowed these games to stay.
In June 2018, Valve updated its content policy to take a more hands-off approach, except for illegal material. Instead of deciding what content is appropriate, Valve improved its filtering system to let developers label mature content (violence, nudity, or sexual themes). Users can block games with mature content, and developers are encouraged to complete forms to describe their game’s content. Valve also promised to create tools to help developers deal with controversy.
Until these tools were ready, some adult-themed games were delayed. Negligee: Love Stories, a sexually explicit game, was one of the first to be released after the tools were added in September 2018. The game’s developer, Dharker Studios, restricted sales in over 20 regions to avoid legal issues. Valve banned games where characters appear underage, even if the story says they are adults.
In March 2019, Valve refused to host Rape Day, a game where players control a serial rapist in a zombie apocalypse, because it had "costs and risks" and made it hard for the game to find an audience.
In December 2020, Valve blocked access to games with "Adults Only 18+" pornographic content in Germany after complaints from Medienanstalt Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein. In November 2024, the Anti-Defamation League accused Valve of allowing hate and anti-Semitic content on Steam, citing over 40,000 groups with extreme views. Senator Mark Warner later asked Valve to review its policies.
In July 2025, Valve updated its storefront policies to remove games that include content violating rules set by payment processors, banks, or internet providers. This change led to the removal of about 400 mature-rated games from Steam. Valve confirmed this was done to follow these rules.
Platforms, devices and regions
Valve created the Steam Hardware Survey in 2003 before releasing Half-Life 2. At that time, no data existed about the types of computer parts gamers used, so Valve used the survey to collect this information automatically through the Steam client with user permission. This helped Valve set hardware requirements for Half-Life 2 to work on as many systems as possible. Since then, Valve has continued using the survey to share hardware data with other game developers. This helps developers understand current technology trends and decide when to stop supporting older hardware or software.
Steam was first released only for Microsoft Windows in 2003. Later, it was made available on other platforms. Recent versions of the Steam client use the Chromium Embedded Framework. To support new features, Steam now uses 64-bit versions of Chromium, which means it no longer works on older operating systems like Windows XP and Vista. Steam also requires security features found in newer Windows versions. Support for XP and Vista ended in 2019. Users still on these systems can use the client, but they cannot access newer features. About 0.2% of Steam users were affected when this change happened. In March 2023, Valve announced that Steam would stop supporting Windows 7 and 8 on January 1, 2024.
Valve introduced a Steam client for macOS in March 2010. This came after the Steam beta client was updated to use the WebKit engine instead of Internet Explorer’s Trident engine. Valve shared images with the Mac community and gaming websites to announce the client. These images included Valve game characters with Apple logos and parodies of old Mac advertisements. Valve also made a video inspired by Apple’s 1984 Macintosh commercial to announce Half-Life 2’s availability on macOS. Some images from this video were used earlier to hint at the Mac Steam client.
Steam for macOS was planned for April 2010 but was delayed until May 12, 2010. Alongside the client, developers gained access to tools for using the cross-platform Source engine and Steamworks features. Through Steam Play, macOS users who bought compatible Windows games can download Mac versions for free. Steam Cloud and many multiplayer games also support cross-platform play.
With Apple ending support for Intel-based Macs after macOS Tahoe in late 2025, Valve updated the Steam beta client to support Apple’s new silicon chips without needing Rosetta 2 emulation.
In July 2012, Valve announced a Steam client for Linux based on Ubuntu. This followed months of speculation, especially from Phoronix, which found evidence of Linux development in recent Steam and Valve game builds. Newell, a Valve leader, said making Steam and games work on Linux is a key strategy. He criticized Microsoft Windows 8’s closed nature as harmful to the PC gaming community and emphasized Linux’s openness. Valve helps developers bring their games to Linux by making the process as simple as possible.
The Linux client team worked for a year before the announcement to confirm the port was possible. By the time of the announcement, a nearly complete Steam client for Linux had been built and tested on Ubuntu. Internal beta testing began in October 2012, and external testing started in November. Open beta clients were available by late December 2012, and the official release happened in February 2013. Valve’s Linux team confirmed that Left 4 Dead 2 would run well on Linux and connect with Windows and Mac versions. Later, Valve expanded support to other Linux distributions like Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. By June 2014, over 500 Linux-compatible games were on Steam, and by February 2019, there were 5,800 native Linux games on Steam.
In August 2018, Valve released a beta version of Proton (called Steam Play), an open-source tool that lets Linux users run Windows games directly through Steam. Proton includes tools like Wine and DXVK. It supports Steam-compatible controllers, even those not working on Windows. The Steam Deck, released in 2022, runs SteamOS 3.0 based on Arch Linux and uses Proton to play Windows games without native Linux ports. Before the Steam Deck’s release, Valve worked with middleware developers to ensure compatibility with Proton. This included collaborating with anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye. Valve also created a system to rate how well games work on the Steam Deck.
Support for Nvidia’s DLSS technology was added to Proton in June 2021, but this feature is not available on the Steam Deck, which uses AMD hardware.
In March 2022, Google provided a prerelease version of Steam for Chromebooks, and it entered public beta in November 2022. In August 2025, Google announced that Steam support for Chromebooks would end in 2026.
At E3 2010, Newell announced that Steamworks would be available on PlayStation 3 with Portal 2. Steamworks debuted on consoles with Portal 2’s PlayStation 3 release. Features like cross-platform play, instant messaging, Steam Cloud for saved games, and the ability to download Portal 2 from Steam (Windows and Mac) were included. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive also supports Steamworks and cross-platform features on PlayStation 3, including keyboard and mouse controls. Valve hopes to expand Steam features in future content.
Newell said Valve wanted to bring Steam to Xbox 360 through Counter-Strike: Global Offensive but later confirmed cross-platform play would not be in the final version. Valve explained that Xbox Live regulations limited the ability to deliver patches and new content, making Steamworks less useful on Xbox 360. Erik Johnson, a Valve employee, said Microsoft required all new console content to be certified before release, which limited Steamworks’ functionality.
Valve released official Steam clients for iOS and Android in late January 2012 after a short beta period. The app lets users log in to their accounts, browse the store, and manage their games.
Reception and impact
Steam's success has led to criticism for supporting DRM and for holding a dominant position in the market. In 2012, Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, called DRM on Steam for Linux "unethical," though he noted it was better than the version for Windows.
Steam's customer service has faced criticism, with users reporting slow or no responses. In March 2015, Valve received a failing "F" grade from the Better Business Bureau due to many complaints about how Steam was handled. Erik Johnson of Valve said, "We don't feel like our customer service support is where it needs to be right now." He added that the company planned to improve customer support features in the Steam client and respond more quickly. In May 2017, Valve hired more customer service staff and shared data showing the number of service requests handled daily, averaging 75,000. Refund requests were the largest category, followed by account security and recovery. Valve stated that 98% of all service requests were processed within 24 hours.
In August 2011, Valve reported that Steam's revenue, estimated at $1 billion in 2010, was similar to the revenue from its published games. Gabe Newell said the company was "tremendously profitable," earning more per employee than companies like Google or Apple. By the end of 2015, Steam had 125 million active accounts. By August 2017, 27 million new accounts were added since January 2016, bringing the total to at least 150 million. Most accounts were from North America and Western Europe, with significant growth in Asia by 2017 due to efforts to localize the client and add more currency options. In September 2014, 1.4 million accounts belonged to Australian users, growing to 2.2 million by October 2015.
Valve considers concurrent users—how many accounts are logged in at the same time—as a key measure of Steam's success. In August 2017, Steam reported a peak of 14 million concurrent players, up from 8.4 million in 2015. Daily active users reached 33 million, and monthly active users reached 67 million. By January 2018, the peak online count was 18.5 million, with over 47 million daily active users. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Steam saw over 23 million concurrent players in March, with several games also reaching record highs. By December 2024, the peak concurrent user count reached 39.2 million, partly due to the releases of Marvel Rivals and Path of Exile 2. By February 2025, the count reached 40 million with the release of Monster Hunter Wilds.
In October 2025, Steam reached a new peak of 41.6 million concurrent users, surpassing its previous record by over a million. This increase was largely due to the release of Battlefield 6. An analysis by Alinea Analytics estimated that Steam generated $16.3 billion in revenue during the first 11 months of 2025.
Steam grew from seven games in 2004 to over 30,000 by 2019, with additional products like creation software, DLC, and videos numbering over 20,000. By February 2021, over 50,000 games were available on the service. This growth is due to changes in Valve's curation approach, which allows publishers to add games without direct involvement from Valve. The addition of Greenlight and Direct increased the number of games on Steam, with almost 40% of the 19,000 games on Steam by the end of 2017 released in 2017. Before Greenlight, Valve added about five new games weekly. Greenlight increased this to about 70, and Direct later raised it to 180 per week.
Although Steam provides direct sales data to developers, it does not share public sales data. In 2011, Jason Holtman of Valve said the company believed such data was outdated for a digital market. Data Valve does provide cannot be released without permission due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Developers and publishers have requested sales metrics to evaluate game performance. Algorithms using publicly available user data led to the creation of Steam Spy in 2015, which estimated sales accurately. However, in April 2018, Valve added privacy settings that hid user profiles, breaking Steam Spy's method. A new approach using game achievements was later developed, but Valve changed the Steam API, reducing its effectiveness. Some claimed Valve used the GDPR change to block sales estimation methods, though Valve promised to provide more accurate tools for developers. In 2020, Simon Carless revised an approach proposed by Mike Boxleiter in 2013, using the number of reviews on Steam with a modified "Boxleiter number" as a multiplication factor.
The accessibility of publishing games on platforms like Steam has helped indie games gain popularity. However, journalists have criticized Valve for lacking curation policies, making it hard to find quality games among poorly made ones.
After the launch of Steam Direct, the video game industry had mixed reactions. Some praised Valve for avoiding content censorship and letting consumers decide what to buy. Others worried that this approach might allow developers to publish harmful content, as Valve relies on user filters and algorithms. Critics also argued that Valve benefits financially from not blocking content, as it earns a percentage of sales. In 2018, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation criticized Steam's policy for avoiding corporate and social responsibility amid the rise of games involving sexual violence and exploitation.
Steam was estimated to hold the largest share of the PC digital distribution market in