Download and play your favorite games all on one convenient software program that was designed and developed by gamers
Download and play your favorite games all on one convenient software program that was designed and developed by gamers
What Is Steam?
Steam is gaming storefront, platform, and multiplayer service that supports players, developers, publishers, and many other stakeholders in the gaming industry.
For most people, it's place to purchase and install games without interacting with a physical storefront, or visiting multiple vendors.
Owned by Valve Corporation and originally launched in 2003 to help Valve update their core games, the platform supports Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and 28 languages across the world officially. Unofficially, Steam can help developers and publishers reach their audiences easier, without having to craft a storefront or delivery service on their own.
About Valve Corporation
Valve was founded by two former Microsoft employees:
Gabe Newell (Gaben)
Mike Harrington (Tagus)
Originally popular for the Half-Life, Team Fortress, and Portal franchises, Valve was poised to sell its internal maintenance, sales, and business-to-business server hosting services to a wider audience.
The company gained even greater foothold after the success of DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) 2, a game based on a fan-made version of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft 3.
Responsible for the rise of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre that become even more popular with competitor League of Legends (LoL, owned by Riot Games), Valve has a powerful and prominent place in gaming.
How Does Steam Work?
Steam allows players to purchase, install, update, and otherwise manage games within a single application.
For game developers and publishers, it offers game hosting services and a robust sales platform, allowing sales reach to the Steam market at large.
Although not every game in the world is on Steam, many developers with computer games (PC, Linux, or Mac) provide purchase and download services via Steam or one of its competitors. A few major game developers use their own sales and management platforms, but often offer easy ways to integrate with Steam due to user loyalty.
Do You Permanently Own Games With Steam?
When you purchase a game on Steam, you own is completely--that is, you own a license to play the game. Although there was some debate about ownership of digital property when Steam skyrocketed in popularity, the same holds true with physical disks. The disk does not imply ownership of a game, merely a license of the game.
That said, legal purchases on Steam are assigned to the user, and not taken away unless theft or other legal issues are detected. The most infamous restriction is the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) ban, which restricts online gameplay when an account cheats with a game.
Although there are many different situations that change what a VAC ban means, it typically means that an account is banned from online gameplay with a specific game. That user still has access to other games, unless the games are also online multiplayer and owned by the same company that banned the user.
Every situations is different, but typically, single player games are still playable. In some cases, a publisher may even provide a game license to the player in addition to their Steam use license.
Ownership of a Steam game does not legally entitle a user to a disk format, format on a Steam competitor, or the ability to download the game on potentially illegal platforms such as torrents or piracy filesharing sites.
Can You Add Non-Steam Games To Your Steam Library?
Game developers can choose to give a Steam license in addition to their own licensing method.
Because convenience is a great sales tactic--and ethically right in the eyes of many developers--buyers may receive license codes in their email or on their player account. These codes can be used to register the game on Steam, play it via Steam, and update the game as if it were a normal Steam purchase.
This is a service often purchased by the game developer and purchaser, sold by Steam or included as a negotiation point. The codes are generated used a secure process for that game; not a completely random number generator, but a number generator based on a system linked to the game release.
Steam also allows users to search and add games to their Steam library manually. If you've installed a game on your computer, but want to launch it inside Steam rather than using desktop shortcuts, you can.
However, such manual installs typically can't be updated via Steam. This is because Steam provides storage space, download/upload capacity (bandwidth) and many other services that push updates from developers or publishers to the players.
Steam doesn't simply "know" about updates somewhere on the internet, or grab it from a game company's servers simply because a user requests. Update services are part of a business deal.
This can become confusing with free games offered on multiple platforms. Some users may start the game from the official free website, but later decide to install the game via Steam for convenience.
Unfortunately, this often creates a new account specifically for that Steam account. Typically, modern games give warnings about how the multiple platform process works, and will remind users to log into their specific account--especially if they're paying for an online game.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Convenient - One place to download games, install games, update games, play games with friends, and maintain or uninstall games.
- Popular - Lots of people use Steam, and since it's easier to use than in past years, more people use Steam. Sometimes, users aren't even aware that Steam is part of the process.
- Affordable - While you may be able to find some physical game copies for cheaper than retail, there are many sales available for many games due to the easy sales system. Game developers and publishers have an easy system for setting prices and sales schedules. Gifting is also available.
Cons
- Not directly linked to some publishers - A company can leave Steam after a contract period. For online games, this is an issue if users aren't computer savvy, since they usually have to reinstall the game.
- VAC ban scares. Players should be able to play their games as they see fit, which includes cheating. While such bans are understandable when users sign an online game agreement, some aggressive anti-cheat systems exist on Single Player games and may require a lengthy appeal process.
- Layers between third-party customer service. - It's not always clear that Valve doesn't own a game being played, so users must figure out whether an issue is Valve and Steam's responsibility, or the responsibility of the game publishers.
Final Thoughts
Steam is more than a game platform these days. It's an entire community system, which makes connecting with gamers easier than ever.
While there are still a few problems with new games at launch--which are problems whether Steam is involved at all--gamers can count on the platform to deliver games and make management easier.
Competitors exist, and only make the platform stronger. Some companies have entered and left the scene multiple times, only to run their own platform while simultaneously giving Steam loyalists ways to connect as well.
While it's not impossible to enjoy computer gaming without Steam or similar platforms, the ease of access is hard to ignore. Download Steam now, connect with a few friends or find new gamers to play with, and check out the convenience for yourself.
Pros
- Rich and enthusiastic fan and creator community
- One of the biggest game catalogs to choose from
- Lets users share their game and software library
Cons
- Doesn't support video capture
- Interface can be a bit obtuse
Steam offers the original, and still arguably the most popular, computer game launcher available for PC. While newer services like the Epic Game Store are doing their best to finally offer some competition to Steam, the years that Valve has spent polishing up their interface and working out special relationships with some of the biggest game developers in the business means that they still have a huge head start, and they still present themselves as one of the best options available to gamers.
A lot of that has to do with the design of the Steam storefront. To a lot of new users, it actually might seem intimidating, but you'll find a whole wealth of options for navigating games you already own as well as games that you might be interested in. Fortunately, the one section of Steam you'll likely be using the most is incredibly well designed. A sidebar provides an easy to read vertical listing of all of your available software, meaning that the majority of the screen space can be devoted to big, chunky graphically driven tiles that are great if you develop a huge collection of games gathering dust and aren't sure what you want. And while Steam may have initially started as just a gaming service, it's since become a source for practically any software you could want. Fortunately, a simple pulldown menu allows you to filter between games, software, soundtracks, and tools.
There's a reason why Steam needs to have that many filtering options too. Valve's goal is clearly make to Steam a platform for just about anything software related. In a smart attempt at achieving those goals, Steam has evolved from a simple storefront into a client for managing all of your software. That means that you can add any software you didn't even buy through the Steam store to your directories and still use the Steam client to launch it. That accessible and open ended nature has allowed Steam to reach out to some really big industry players too. Services like Humble Bundle distribute their software via Steam code, and the cross-compatibility at work here means that Steam can be used to manage your games across multiple devices. While you unfortunately won't be able to share your console games over Steam, it is a very easy way to integrate your PC and mobile libraries.
Since Steam is primarily a storefront, the quality of the store's interface is going to be very important. Steam does a great job on that front. Despite the amount of content available here, Steam provides some smart filtering and sorting options in addition to some solid search controls. Compound that with recommendations based off your previous searches and purchases, and you have a system that makes it just about as easy to find what you want as you could hope.
That's all well and good, but Steam really comes into its own once you start digging into the individual pages for software. Customer reviews are something to be expected in a modern online storefront, but Steam really takes it to the next level. The user community here is positively huge, and Steam even goes so far as to provide graphs that track a product's reviews over time. With more and more games stuck in pre-release states for years, that's certainly a boon. Users can also design tags that make features easier to identify.
It's really that sense of community that makes the Steam interface shine. Games in your library are built around hubs that engage the whole fan community as well as game developers themselves. Steam has built the tools, and there's been eager investment, especially from the sort of smaller game developers who can live or die on how well they connect with their base. There are even community groups and discussions in addition to the existing reviews.
The one final component that makes Steam stand so far above most of the competition is the creator community. Robust mod handling is one of the main advantages of PC gaming, and Steam offers a wealth of options for creators to directly upload their creations and even charge them for money. From new home textures for the Sims 4 to total mods for Crusader Kings, you'll find a staggering amount of opportunities for getting the most out of your game purchase.
Pros
- Rich and enthusiastic fan and creator community
- One of the biggest game catalogs to choose from
- Lets users share their game and software library
Cons
- Doesn't support video capture
- Interface can be a bit obtuse
Pros
- Steam makes managing a library of games easier than ever before.
- Steam includes great features like the Marketplace and game reviews.
- Steam Sales bring incredible discounts on games.
Cons
- The Steam interface may feel cluttered to newcomers.
- Steam is filled with a disappointing amount of shovelware.
- In-game overlay for Steam could use some improvements.
Steam allows PC gamers to manage their library of games in one place. Hundreds of thousands of titles are available through Steam today. Plus, many titles can be imported into the Steam Library, and countless other features are available as well. Millions of gamers rely upon Steam to access their games and launch multiplayer titles. Competing platforms exist at the moment, but they're lackluster in comparison, to say the least.
What Is Steam? What Does It Do?
In simple terms, Steam is an all-in-one platform for PC video games. The overwhelming majority of games are released on Steam as opposed to other platforms. Individual users can manage all of their games in a simple interface. They can then purchase games and downloadable content as well as handle microtransactions. From there, users can leave reviews on games or engage in various community activities.
A major feature of Steam is the Steam Marketplace, which allows users to buy and sell in-game content to each other. Some items on the Marketplace are worth hundreds of dollars, and the Marketplace includes a high volume of transactions. On the backend, Steam also handles multiplayer connectivity and other background tasks. It's also possible to buy games and content for friends through one's own account.
The True Appeal Of Steam
Steam rules everything for PC gamers because it's a fluid experience. An all-in-one place to manage games and content is hard to come by. Fortunately, Steam comes with a smart design and a mostly clutter-free user interface. Newcomers might find the entire setup confusing, but more time with the platform will lead to higher comfort. The simple fact remains Steam works well and works as intended without too many flaws.
When a user starts their computer, Steam will automatically launch in the background. The moment a game is launched, Steam will activate and start handling tasks. Otherwise, launching Steam itself allows gamers to manage their library in seconds. Users can even communicate with each other on the platform, whether in-game or not. Competitors' platforms often include a lacking setup that doesn't compare well to Steam at all.
You Won't Be Disappointed With Steam!
Steam rules the marketplace for buying and managing video games on PC. Alternatives like BattleNet and Origin are much more simple and limited. In the end, downloading Steam is a must for the average gamer that plays more than a half-dozen games. It's never been easier to manage dozens, or even hundreds, of titles at once. Typical users will love what Steam brings to the table, and they won't have trouble dealing with its minor flaws in the long run.
Pros
- Steam makes managing a library of games easier than ever before.
- Steam includes great features like the Marketplace and game reviews.
- Steam Sales bring incredible discounts on games.
Cons
- The Steam interface may feel cluttered to newcomers.
- Steam is filled with a disappointing amount of shovelware.
- In-game overlay for Steam could use some improvements.
