Instantly access to your favorite games on Steam, with thousands of games, exclusive deals, automatic game updates and other great perks. With Steam you can also join the Steam Community of PC gamers, join game groups, form clans, chat in-game and more.
Why is Steam so popular?
Steam was originally created by Half-Life developer Valve as a platform to update their games and distribute them digitally. The service had a slow start, then facing competition from brick and mortar stores and physical copies, but it wasn’t long until it became the largest digital distribution platform for PC gaming. Over the years Valve has successfully created a platform that hosts games from most other publishers, studios, and game creators in general.
Name a few great free games available on Steam…
We have two dedicated articles highlighting great titles available for free on Steam, but to name a few popular ones: Counter-Strike, Apex Legends, Lost Ark, PUBG, Destiny 2, War Thunder, Dota 2, Warframe, Team Fortress 2, and World of Warships.
Is there anything better than Steam?
Steam remains the biggest PC gaming platform, but there are good alternatives like the Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy, Uplay, Origin and Itch.io.
Does Steam have Fortnite?
Fortnite is developed by Epic Games, who have their own competing platform, so Fortnite is not on Steam.
Is there a monthly fee for Steam?
Absolutely not. Steam is free and the platform makes money through the sale of games and other digital content.
How do I install Steam Beta?
Opting in to the Steam Client Beta lets you use the latest features before they’re released.
Please follow the instructions below to participate in the Steam client beta:
- With Steam running, click on “Steam” in the upper left, then choose the “Settings” menu. (Preferences on Mac)
- On the “Account” tab under “Beta Participation” click the “Change…” button.
- Select the “Steam Beta Update” from the drop down list and click “OK”.
- You will be prompted to restart Steam, please select the “Restart Steam” button.
If you are using Big Picture Mode:
- Select ‘Settings’ then ‘System’
- Check the ‘Participate in client beta’ option
- Follow the prompt to restart Steam
Create and Share Content
Gift your friends, trade items, and even create new content for games in the Steam Workshop. Help shape the future of your favorite games.
Entertainment Anywhere
Whether you’re on a PC, Mac, Linux box, mobile device, or even your television, you can enjoy the benefits of Steam. Take the fun with you.
Available on PC, Mac, and Linux
We offer a catalog of PC, Mac, and Linux games, many of which support Steam Play so you can buy once and play anywhere, and Cross-Platform Multiplayer so you can play with all your friends, no matter where they log in.
What’s New
Beta
Updated Big Picture is now available for testing
We are preparing to update Big Picture mode with the new interface we designed for Steam Deck, and today we’re making it available for testing. This update has been a long time coming, and we’re very excited to start gathering community feedback.
This controller-first interface was designed for Steam Deck in handheld and docked mode, and is perfect for all the scenarios Big Picture mode currently handles. The updated Big Picture mode includes features like:
- New Home Screen, where you can continue playing recent games, and see what’s new with the games in your library.
- New Universal Search, that searches across Library, Store, and your friends
- New controller configurator, designed for ease-of-use of picking, adjusting, or creating custom controller configurations
- Optimized Steam Store for controller navigation
- Updated in-game overlay, with access to achievements and guides
- Press Steam / Guide / PS button while in game
- New system menu, for quick navigation to different parts of the interface
- Access this with the Steam / Guide / PS button
- New quick access menu, for access to notifications, friends list, quick settings, and more.
- Access this with Steam / Guide / PS button + A
Stable
A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.
Library
- Added a section to display a rollup of new DLC and other game content that has been released since you last visited a game’s library page. Once visible, this section will automatically hide after a short period of time.
- Rebuilt how featured game news is displayed on library game pages. It is now displayed as a featured post at the top of the activity feed to improve readability and reduce the required work for game devs. The entry is shown for a short period of time before returning to its chronological spot in the activity feed.
- Updated the presentation of the new DLC added to your account section on library game pages.
- Changed how major updates are displayed in the library activity section to make them easier to find.
Previous release notes
- Steam Android App updated to 3.0
- New Steam Sign In UI
- Now enabled for all users
- QR Code sign in now available
- Read this announcement for more details
Sign In UI
- Fixed username and password fields flashing briefly at the end of a successful sign in
- Fixed automated login with credentials provided on the command line
- Fixed Steam Guard code input accepting and potentially submitting with invalid characters
- Fixed confirmation-based mobile sign-ins not successfully approving login when client asked for Steam Guard code instead
- Added explicit messaging for failures related to too many retries
Previous release notes
A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.
Sign In UI
- Updated sign in UI look and feel
Games to Play Together
- Allow friend search by nickname or persona name
- Include free to play games that have been played by the friend in Games to Play Together filters
- Fixed issue with “Find Games to Play with Friends” showing games that your friend is sharing with you
Library
- Fixed text display cropping issue with library filter tags
Steam Cloud
- Fixed showing “Cloud Sync Failure” dialog on game launch when in Offline mode
In-Game Overlay
- Improve overlay responsiveness in some edge cases for users with large friends lists or large numbers of incoming friends requests.
Remote Play
- Fixed rare cases of keyboard input arriving out of order
