How to publish a game on Steam: every step from Steamworks sign-up to the Release button

To publish or add a game on Steam as a developer you:

1. Sign up for Steamworks and sign Valve's digital paperwork.
2. Pay the $100 USD Steam Direct fee for the game.
3. Enter your bank, tax and identity details.
4. Build your store page and send it to Valve for review.
5. Post it as Coming Soon and collect wishlists for at least two weeks.
6. Upload your build and send it for review.
7. Press Release App yourself.

Valve has some minimum waiting times, so even a finished game needs about a month from sign-up to launch. The rest of this guide goes through each step and the timings to plan around.

Steamworks is Valve's portal for developers and publishers. You join it from a normal Steam account at partner.steamgames.com. Valve's onboarding docs list what you need to do:

• Sign the digital paperwork: a Non Disclosure Agreement and the Steam Distribution Agreement.
• Give your legal name or company name exactly as it appears on your bank and tax documents. No trading names or nicknames.
• Add bank details so Valve can pay you. The account holder name must match the name you onboard with. You can sign up as an individual, but then the bank account has to be in your own name.
• Complete the tax questionnaire. US developers give W-9 style details, and developers in countries with a US tax treaty give W-8BEN style details. Valve checks this with a third party, which can take up to 30 days, and you cannot change your tax details while that is happening.
• Verify your identity, so Valve knows who it is doing business with.

Do this as early as you can. Tax and identity checks are the slowest part of the process and they don't depend on your game being finished.

Each game you put on Steam needs its own app credit. Valve's Steam Direct Fee page says it costs $100 USD (or equivalent) per app, paid with any payment method Steam supports in your country except Steam Wallet funds. Valve may add local consumption tax on top.

• Who can pay: only users with Admin permissions in your Steamworks partner account.
• Who can use it: the app credit is attached to the Steam account that paid, and only that person can activate it.
• Invoices go to the individual Steam account that paid, not to a company.

The fee is not refundable, but Valve pays it back once the game reaches $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue.

Some of these run at the same time. For example, your Coming Soon page can collect wishlists while you finish the build. But you can't skip any of them, so start the Steamworks paperwork long before your launch date.

Once your app exists in Steamworks, its landing page shows a store presence checklist. Before you can post a Coming Soon page you need, among other things:

• Capsule art in every required size. See our Steam capsule sizes guide and check your files with the free capsule size checker.
• A short description of up to 300 characters, plus the longer About This Game section. Our short description guide explains what works, and the Steam game description template covers the long section.
• At least 5 screenshots of real gameplay. A trailer is optional for review, but most players expect one. See our Steam trailer tips.
• Tags, genre and supported languages and platforms. Our Steam tags guide covers how to choose and order tags.

Every required asset size, screenshot rule and trailer spec is in one list in our Steam store page requirements checklist. Valve checks the page for rule breaks, not for whether it sells. Treat this step as marketing too: the page is where every wishlist comes from.

When the checklist is complete, click Mark as ready for review. Valve says review typically takes 3-5 business days and suggests submitting at least 7 business days before you want the page live. If reviewers find a problem they send feedback to fix and resubmit. Our Steam store page review guide lists what they check and the common rejection reasons.

Approval does not publish the page. You choose when to press Post as Coming Soon. Valve's Coming Soon docs recommend posting as soon as you are ready to talk about the game publicly, and say early wishlisters are just as likely to buy as late ones. New products must have a Coming Soon page up for at least two weeks before release.

Upload the game with Steamworks' build tools (SteamPipe), set it live on a branch and submit it for review from the game build checklist. You can only do this after the store page has been submitted. Valve's Review Process checks that the build:

• launches on every operating system you list;
• has the features you ticked, such as controller support or cloud saves;
• uses Steam Wallet for any in-game purchases;
• is near-final. You can keep updating it during and after review.

Build review also typically takes 3-5 business days, so Valve suggests submitting at least 7 business days before your release date.

Once the build is approved, the 21-day wait has passed and your page has been Coming Soon for two weeks, you press Release App in Steamworks. Valve's Release Process docs are clear that approved games never release on their own, so you stay in control of the exact time.

The wishlists you collected matter most now: Steam emails your wishlisters when you launch or go on sale. Use our wishlist to sales calculator to estimate first-week sales, and read how many wishlists you need to launch.

Working back from Valve's minimum times, a first game that is already finished could look like this. Real projects usually take longer, so treat these as the fastest case.

Most indie teams leave their Coming Soon page up for months, not two weeks, because that is how wishlists build up before launch.

The Coming Soon page is your store page before release. Players can find it, follow it and wishlist it, and Steam emails your wishlisters when you launch. Valve's Coming Soon docs recommend posting it as soon as you are ready to talk about the game publicly.

• Show the real game. Valve's review only allows screenshots and trailers of content that will be in the game.
• Make the capsule readable small. Most players first see it as a tiny thumbnail in lists.
• Lead the short description with genre and hook. Up to 300 characters, plain words.
• Pick specific tags. Your top 5 decide who Steam shows the game to.
• Set a release window if you have one, and add a demo if you can.

A free Steam store page audit scores all of these in about 20 seconds and works on Coming Soon pages.

• ☐ Steamworks account created and digital paperwork (NDA and Steam Distribution Agreement) signed
• ☐ Legal or company name matches bank and tax documents
• ☐ Bank details added in the same name
• ☐ Tax questionnaire done (allow up to 30 days)
• ☐ Identity verified
• ☐ $100 Steam Direct fee paid and app credit activated
• ☐ Capsule art in every required size
• ☐ Short description and About This Game written
• ☐ At least 5 gameplay screenshots, trailer uploaded
• ☐ Tags, genre, languages and platforms set
• ☐ Store page marked ready for review (7+ business days before you want it live)
• ☐ Posted as Coming Soon (at least 2 weeks before release)
• ☐ Build uploaded, tested on every listed OS, submitted for review (7+ business days before release)
• ☐ 21 days passed since paying the fee
• ☐ Release App pressed

If you searched "how to add a game on Steam" as a player, you probably want something else: adding a game you got elsewhere to your Steam library. In the Steam desktop app, open Games > Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library, tick the program and click Add Selected Programs. It then shows in your library and can use the Steam overlay, but Steam doesn't sell or update it. To redeem a Steam key instead, use Games > Activate a Product on Steam.

Your store page is live for weeks or months before launch, and it is what turns visitors into wishlists. A free WishlistLab audit scores your capsule, short description, trailer, screenshots and tags out of 100 in about 20 seconds and tells you the three fixes that matter most. It works on Coming Soon pages too. Before a fest, also run through our Steam Next Fest page checklist.

How much does it cost to publish a game on Steam?

$100 USD (or equivalent) per game, called the Steam Direct fee. Valve pays it back once the game reaches $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue. Local consumption tax may be added.

How long does it take to get a game on Steam?

Allow at least a month. There is a 21-day wait between paying the app fee and releasing your first titles, your Coming Soon page must be public for at least two weeks, and store page and build reviews typically take 3-5 business days each. Tax checks can take up to 30 days, so start the paperwork early.

Can I publish a game on Steam as an individual?

Yes. You can onboard as an individual rather than a company, but the bank account you give Valve must be in the same name you sign up with.

Does my game release automatically once Valve approves it?

No. After approval you press Release App yourself in Steamworks. Approved games never release on their own.

Can I pay the Steam Direct fee with Steam Wallet funds?

No. Valve accepts any payment method Steam supports in your country except Steam Wallet funds. Only users with Admin permissions in your Steamworks account can pay it.

How long must my Coming Soon page be up before release?

At least two weeks for new products. Most indie teams keep it up much longer to collect wishlists.

How long does Valve take to review a game?

Store page review and build review each typically take 3-5 business days. Valve suggests submitting each at least 7 business days before you need it.

Do I need to submit my build before my store page?

No, the other way round. You can only submit the build for review after the store page has been submitted.

How do I add a non-Steam game to my Steam library?

In the Steam desktop app choose Games, then Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library, tick the program and click Add Selected Programs.