Steam is a digital service created by Valve Corporation in the United States. It started as a program that users could download in September 2003 to automatically update Valve's video games. By late 2005, Steam expanded to sell games made by other companies. The service provides features like online game matching with anti-cheat tools, social networking, and streaming games. The Steam program includes tools for updating games, storing files in the cloud, and offering community tools such as messaging, an in-game screen overlay, discussion boards, and a marketplace for collectibles. The Steam storefront also sells productivity software, game music, videos, and hardware made by Valve, such as the Valve Index and the Steam Deck.
In 2008, Steam released Steamworks, a tool that helps game developers add Steam features like digital rights management to their games. Many game companies began selling their games on Steam that year. Steam was first made for Windows computers and later adapted for macOS in 2010 and Linux in 2013. A mobile version of Steam for iOS and Android devices was released in 2012 to let users access online features.
Steam became the largest platform for selling PC games. In 2013, it had about 75% of the market share, according to IHS Screen Digest. By 2017, Steam had sold about $4.3 billion worth of games, or 18% of all PC game sales globally, according to Steam Spy. By 2021, Steam had over 34,000 games available and more than 132 million users who played games on the service each month. Steam's success led to the creation of Steam Machine computers in 2015, including the SteamOS operating system and Steam Controller. Steam also introduced devices for streaming games locally and, in 2022, the Steam Deck, a handheld device designed to run Steam games.
History
In the early 2000s, Valve wanted a better way to update its games. Downloading patches for multiplayer games caused many users to disconnect for several days until the updates were installed. Valve decided to create a platform that would automatically update games and add stronger anti-piracy and anti-cheat features. They asked companies like Microsoft, Yahoo!, and RealNetworks to help build this platform, but all of them refused.
Valve started developing its own platform in 2002, using the names "Grid" and "Gazelle." The Steam platform was announced at the Game Developers Conference on March 22, 2002, and began beta testing the same day. Before Steam, Valve had a publishing contract with Sierra Studios. A 2001 version of the contract allowed Valve to distribute its games digitally. In 2002, Valve sued Sierra and Vivendi Games, claiming the company broke the contract. Sierra responded by suing Valve, saying it violated the contract by creating a digital storefront to compete with Sierra.
Steam officially launched on September 12, 2003. In November 2004, Half-Life 2 became the first major game available digitally on Steam, requiring users to install the Steam client for retail copies. Some users had trouble playing the game due to legal disputes between Valve and Vivendi, who claimed physical copies of the game could not be activated. Concerns about software ownership and server issues, similar to those during the Counter-Strike launch, also arose.
In 2005, third-party developers released games on Steam, including Rag Doll Kung Fu and Darwinia. In May 2007, ATI included Steam in its GPU driver and gave free Steam 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 GeForce GPU driver and gave free Steam copies of Portal: The First Slice to Nvidia hardware owners. In 2011, some Electronic Arts games, such as Crysis 2, Dragon Age II, and Alice: Madness Returns, were removed from Steam because the service’s terms of service prevented in-game storefronts for downloadable content. These games later appeared on the Origin platform.
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 model. In May 2019, Microsoft began distributing its games on Steam in addition to the Microsoft Store.
In 2020, Electronic Arts began publishing some games on Steam and introduced its EA Play subscription service on the platform. In 2022, Ubisoft returned to selling recent games on Steam, starting with Assassin's Creed Valhalla, stating it was "constantly evaluating how to bring our games to different audiences wherever they are."
By 2014, Steam’s annual game sales reached $1.5 billion. 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 in 2014.
Features and functionality
Steam's main purpose is to let users buy games and other software, then add them to a virtual library where they can download and install them as many times as needed. At first, Valve had to be the publisher for these games because it controlled Steam's database and engine. However, in May 2008, Valve released the Steamworks software development kit (SDK), which allowed others to add Steam features to their games without needing Valve's direct help.
Valve aimed to make traditional digital rights management (DRM) methods, like product keys, unnecessary. In March 2009, Steamworks added "Custom Executable Generation" (CEG), which creates unique, encrypted copies of game files for each user. These files can be installed multiple times and on different devices, and users can make backup copies. To play the game, users must authenticate through Steam to decrypt the files. This usually happens online after logging in, but once logged in, users can play offline if they choose. Developers can use other DRM methods or authentication services, such as Ubisoft's Uplay, alongside Steam.
In September 2008, Steam introduced Steam Cloud, a service that automatically saves game progress and custom files on Valve's servers. Users can access these files from any device with the Steam client. They can disable this feature for specific games or accounts. In January 2022, Steam expanded Steam Cloud to save game progress while playing, not just after quitting, to support the Steam Deck portable device. In May 2012, users could manage their game libraries remotely from computers or mobile devices. Product keys sold by third-party retailers can be redeemed on Steam. For games using Steamworks, users can buy redemption codes from other vendors and add the game to their library through the Steam client. Steam also provides tools for selling and distributing downloadable content (DLC) for games.
In September 2013, Steam allowed users to 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 locally without the main account. Saved progress and achievements are accessible unless the main user is playing. If the main user 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, Family View was introduced, letting parents set limits on children's accounts. In September 2024, "Steam Families" was launched, allowing up to six users to share games from one account, with separate game saves, profiles, and improved parental controls.
Valve's acceptable use policy allows it to block users from accessing their games or Steam services if VAC (Valve's Anti-Cheat) detects cheating, selling accounts, or exploiting price differences. Initially, blocked users lost access to all their games, but Valve later changed its policy to restrict access to offline play only, similar to Electronic Arts' Origin platform. Users also lose access if they refuse to accept changes to Steam's end user license agreements. In August 2012, this happened when Valve updated its terms. In April 2015, developers could set bans for their games, enforced through Steam.
The Steam client includes a digital storefront called the Steam Store, where users can buy games. Once purchased, a license is permanently linked to the user's account, allowing downloads on any compatible device. Licenses can be transferred to other accounts under specific conditions. Content is delivered through a proprietary file transfer protocol from servers worldwide. Games are available in different currencies based on the user's location. In December 2010, WebMoney was added as a payment method, and Bitcoin was supported from April 2016 to December 2017 before being removed due to cost and volatility. 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 Steam's client, storefront, and games into multiple languages. In October 2018, Vietnamese and Latin American Spanish were officially added to Steam's language support. Users can also buy downloadable content and in-game items, such as those in Team Fortress 2. Starting in February 2015, third-party games could also offer in-game item purchases. Achievements, similar to Xbox 360 Achievements, were added in November 2007.
Valve and developers often offer discounts on games daily or weekly, sometimes themed around publishers, genres, or holidays. Free game trials are sometimes available during sales. Major sales, like the Summer and Holiday sales, feature heavily discounted games and gamified experiences. Since 2016, Steam has held a Lunar New Year sale, though it sometimes overlaps with the Spring Sale.
Users can purchase 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. This led to a gray market where users in low-price regions sold games to others in high-price regions. In August 2016, Valve required immediate gifting for games with VAC or Game Ban features to prevent cheating. In May 2017, this rule was extended 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 a history of success. After 2012, Valve tried to allow more games on Steam without manually approving them, except for checking if games work on the platforms the publisher mentioned. In 2017, a Steam developer named Alden Kroll said Valve understood that Steam was the main provider for selling PC games and did not want to control which games were sold. 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 introduced Steam Greenlight to help add games to the service. Steam users could vote on which games they wanted to see on Steam. Developers shared details about their games, including early versions, and users could support them. Valve would then add the most-supported games to Steam. However, during the first week, many users found it hard to find real games because of fake or inappropriate submissions. To fix this, Valve required developers to pay $100 to list their games, and the money went to a charity called Child's Play. Some smaller developers worried about this cost. Later, Valve allowed developers to share ideas for free, but these ideas could not be seen by other users. Valve also let non-game software be added through Greenlight.
Many developers disliked Greenlight because few games were approved even though users supported them. In January 2013, Valve’s leader, Gabe Newell, said Valve wanted to remove itself as a bottleneck and planned to use an open marketplace system. One year after Greenlight started, Valve approved 100 games at once to show this change.
In June 2017, Valve launched Steam Direct after ending Greenlight. Developers could now add games to Steam by completing forms and paying a fee that could be returned if the game sold more than $1,000. Valve reviewed each game to ensure it worked correctly and had no harmful content. The fee was set between $100 and $5,000 to encourage quality submissions and reduce low-quality games. Smaller developers worried the fee might hurt them, but Valve lowered it to $100 and promised to improve discovery tools. Valve also refunded the fee if a game sold enough. Most of the 3,400 games still in Greenlight were approved automatically, though not all were ready for sale.
Valve wanted to help users find games they might like based on their past purchases. They avoided using paid ads or special placement, which could make some games unfairly popular. Instead, they used computer programs to help users discover games.
In September 2014, Valve added tools called the "Discovery Update." Users could now recommend games, and the store showed more popular or personalized suggestions. This update helped increase sales and store use. A second update in November 2016 gave users more control over what games they saw and helped developers present their games better.
By February 2017, the second Discovery Update increased the number of games shown on the store’s front page by 42%, leading to more sales. In 2016, more games met Valve’s success goal of selling over $200,000 in their first 90 days. In December 2017, Valve added "Curator Connect," letting users and developers match based on interests, reducing key reselling.
To stop fake games, Valve added "Steam Explorers" to check underperforming games and report if they were real or fake.
In July 2019, Valve tested new discovery ideas through Steam Labs, like an AI tool that suggested games based on past play. These ideas were later added to the store.
The September 2019 Discovery Update aimed to help niche games but caused some indie developers to lose visibility.
In September 2022, Valve introduced Steam Charts, which track the most popular and best-selling games on Steam, including weekly and monthly data. This replaced an older statistics page.
Games and account policies
In June 2015, Valve introduced a new process that allowed buyers to request refunds. Refunds were guaranteed if a player had not played a game for more than two hours within the first two weeks. 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 removed games and developers that were "trolling" the system. In September 2018, Valve clearly stated that "trolls" on Steam were 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 cause outrage. Within a month of defining trolling, Valve removed about 170 games from Steam.
Valve also took steps to stop "fake games" that could harm the trading card marketplace or unfairly boost a user’s Steam level. Some changes caused mistakes, like the game Wandersong, which was flagged in January 2019 due to unusual user activity patterns.
Valve has removed games that broke its rules, such as copying game assets, manipulating reviews, misusing Steam tools, or acting hostilely toward 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 content. By January 2024, Valve required games using AI-generated content to disclose this on their store pages and explain how they avoided illegal content. 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 had scenes of nudity and sexual encounters, leading to its removal after criticism from 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-stylized games like HuniePop to address sexual content or face removal, though it later allowed these games to stay.
In June 2018, Valve updated its content policy to take a more hands-off approach, allowing developers to label mature content (such as violence, nudity, or sexual themes) instead of making those decisions itself. Players can block games with mature content, and developers are encouraged to complete forms to describe their game’s content. Valve also committed to creating tools to help developers handle controversy.
Until these tools were ready, some adult-themed games were delayed. Negligee: Love Stories, developed by Dharker Studios, was one of the first sexually explicit games offered after the tools were introduced in September 2018. Dharker Studios agreed to restrict sales in over 20 regions to avoid legal issues. Valve has 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 about controlling a serial rapist in a zombie apocalypse, because of the risks and challenges it posed. In December 2020, Valve blocked access to games with "Adults Only 18+" content in Germany after complaints from a media authority. In November 2024, the Anti-Defamation League accused Valve of allowing hate and anti-Semitic content on its platform, citing over 40,000 groups with extreme views. Senator Mark Warner later asked Valve to confirm it was following its content policies.
In July 2025, Valve updated its policies to remove games that might violate rules set by payment processors, banks, or internet providers. This change led to about 400 mature-rated games being removed from Steam. Valve confirmed this update was made.
Platforms, devices and regions
In 2003, Valve created the Steam Hardware Survey before releasing Half-Life 2. At that time, no information was available about the types of computer hardware used by gamers. Valve used the survey to collect data automatically through the Steam client with user permission. This helped them set hardware requirements for Half-Life 2 to work on as many computers as possible. Since then, Valve has continued using the Steam Hardware Survey to gather hardware information. They share this data with other game developers to 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 newer features, Steam now uses 64-bit versions of Chromium, which means it no longer works on older operating systems like Windows XP and Windows 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 Steam client, but they cannot access newer features. About 0.2% of Steam users were affected by this change. In March 2023, Valve announced that support for Windows 7 and 8 would end on January 1, 2024.
In March 2010, Valve announced a Steam client for macOS. This came after updating the Steam beta client to use the cross-platform WebKit web browser engine instead of Internet Explorer’s Trident engine. Valve shared images with the Mac community and gaming websites to tease the release. These images included Valve game characters with Apple logos and parodies of old Mac advertisements. To announce Half-Life 2 on macOS, Valve created a video that paid tribute to Apple’s 1984 Macintosh commercial. Some images from this video were used earlier to hint at the Mac Steam client.
Steam for macOS was originally planned for April 2010 but was delayed until May 12, 2010. Along with the Steam client, developers gained access to tools like the cross-platform Source engine and Steamworks’ platform and network features. Through Steam Play, macOS users who purchased compatible Windows games can download Mac versions for free. Steam Cloud and many multiplayer PC games also support cross-platform play.
Apple stopped supporting Intel-based Macs after releasing macOS Tahoe in late 2025, switching to Apple silicon. To prepare, Valve updated the Steam beta client to support Apple silicon directly, without needing Rosetta 2 emulation.
In July 2012, Valve announced a Steam client for Linux based on the Ubuntu distribution. This followed months of speculation, especially after Phoronix discovered Linux-related code in recent Steam and Valve game builds. Newell, Valve’s co-founder, stated that 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 encourages developers to bring their games to Linux by simplifying the process.
The Linux client team worked for a year before the announcement to prove a port was possible. By the time of the official release in mid-2013, a nearly complete Steam client for Linux was developed 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. Valve’s Linux division confirmed that Left 4 Dead 2 would run smoothly on Linux and connect with Windows and Mac versions. Over time, Steam expanded to other Linux distributions like Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. By June 2014, over 500 Linux-compatible games were available on Steam, and by February 2019, there were 5,800 native Linux games.
In August 2018, Valve released a beta version of Proton (later called Steam Play), an open-source tool that lets Linux users run Windows games 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 versions. Before the Steam Deck’s release, Valve worked with developers to ensure compatibility with Proton. This included anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye. Valve also created a system to rate games based on how well they work on the Steam Deck.
In June 2021, support for Nvidia’s DLSS technology was added to Proton for compatible hardware and games. However, DLSS is not available on the Steam Deck, which uses AMD hardware.
In March 2022, Google released a prerelease version of Steam for Chromebooks, entering public beta in November 2022. In August 2025, Google announced that Steam for Chromebooks would stop working in 2026.
At E3 2010, Newell announced that Steamworks would be used 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 add more Steam features in future content.
Newell mentioned that Valve wanted to bring Steam to Xbox 360 through Counter-Strike: Global Offensive but confirmed that cross-platform play would not be included in the final version. Valve explained that Microsoft’s Xbox Live rules limited Steamworks’ ability to deliver patches and new content. Erik Johnson, a Valve employee, noted that Microsoft required all console content to be certified before release, which made Steamworks’ approach less effective.
In late January 2012, Valve released an official Steam client for iOS and Android devices 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 some criticism for supporting DRM and for being an effective monopoly. In 2012, Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman called DRM using Steam on Linux "unethical," but still better than Windows.
Steam's customer service has been highly criticized, with users citing poor response times or lack of response. In March 2015, Valve was given a failing "F" grade from the Better Business Bureau due to a large number of complaints about Valve's handling of Steam. Valve's Erik Johnson said, "we don't feel like our customer service support is where it needs to be right now." Johnson stated the company plans to better integrate customer support features into the Steam client and be more responsive. In May 2017, in addition to hiring more staff for customer service, Valve publicized pages that show the number and type of customer service requests it was handling over the last 90 days, with an average of 75,000 entered each day. Of those, requests for refunds were the largest segment, and which Valve could resolve within hours, followed by account security and recovery requests. Valve stated at this time that 98% of all service requests were processed within 24 hours of filing.
In August 2011, Valve said Steam's revenue, estimated to be $1 billion in 2010, was comparable to that of its published games. Gabe Newell said the company was "tremendously profitable," being more profitable per employee than companies like Google or Apple. Valve reported that there were 125 million active accounts on Steam by the end of 2015. By August 2017, the company reported that there were 27 million new active accounts since January 2016, bringing the total number of active users to at least 150 million. Most accounts were from North America and Western Europe, with there being a significant growth in accounts from Asia around 2017, spurred by its work to help localize the client and make additional currency options available to purchasers. In September 2014, 1.4 million accounts belonged to Australian users; this grew to 2.2 million by October 2015.
Valve also considers concurrent users — how many accounts are logged in at the same time — a key indicator of the success of the platform. In August 2017, Valve reported a peak of 14 million concurrent players, up from 8.4 million in 2015, with 33 million active daily and 67 million active monthly. By January 2018, the peak online count had reached 18.5 million, with over 47 million daily active users. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, in which a large proportion of the world's population were at home, Steam saw a concurrent player count of over 23 million in March, along with several games seeing similar record-breaking concurrent counts. The highest concurrent player count reached 39.2 million by December 2024, in part from the combined releases of Marvel Rivals and Path of Exile 2, and 40 million by February 2025 with the release of Monster Hunter Wilds.
In October 2025, Steam reached a new all-time concurrent user peak of 41.6 million, surpassing its previous record by over a million — a surge attributed largely to the release of Battlefield 6. An analysis by Alinea Analytics estimated that in the first 11 months of 2025, Steam had brought in $16.3 billion in revenue.
Steam has grown from seven games in 2004 to over 30,000 by 2019, with additional non-gaming products, such as creation software, DLC, and videos, numbering over 20,000. More than 50,000 games were on the service as of February 2021. The growth of games on Steam is attributed to changes in Valve's curation approach, which allows publishers to add games without Valve's direct involvement, and games supporting virtual reality technology. The addition of Greenlight and Direct has accelerated the number of games present on the service, with almost 40% of the 19,000 games on Steam by the end of 2017 having been released in 2017. Before Greenlight, Valve saw about five new games published each week. Greenlight expanded this to about seventy, and which doubled to one hundred and eighty per week following the introduction of Direct.
Although Steam provides direct sales data to developers and publishers, it does not provide public sales data. In 2011, Valve's Jason Holtman stated that the company felt that such data was outdated for a digital market. Data that Valve does provide cannot be released without permission because of a non-disclosure agreement.
Developers and publishers have asked for some metrics of sales for games, to allow them to judge the potential success of a title by reviewing how similar games have performed. Algorithms that worked on publicly available data through user profiles to estimate sales data with some accuracy led to the creation of the website Steam Spy in 2015. Steam Spy was credited with being reasonably accurate, but in April 2018, Valve added new privacy settings that defaulted to hiding user game profiles, stating this was part of compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union. The change broke the method by which Steam Spy had collected data, rendering it unusable. A few months later, another method had been developed using game achievements to estimate sales with similar accuracy, but Valve shortly changed the Steam API that reduced its functionality. Some have asserted that Valve used the GDPR change as a means to block methods of estimating sales, although Valve subsequently promised to provide tools to developers to help gain such insights that it says will be more accurate. In 2020, Simon Carless revised an approach originally proposed by Mike Boxleiter as early as 2013, with Carless's method of estimating sales based on the number of reviews it has on Steam with a modified "Boxleiter number" used as a multiplication factor.
The accessibility of publishing games on digital storefronts like