Putting your game on Steam

gamegen makes web games: they play in any browser, on desktop and on phones. With --package steam, it also turns a finished game into apps for Windows and Linux (including Steam Deck), and makes what Steam asks for. This guide covers the rest: the steps in Steamworks that only you can do, from your account to the release.

Expect: $100 per game, paid to Valve; about two to three weeks from a finished store page to release (Valve’s reviews, and a two-week “Coming Soon” period); and an afternoon of forms the first time.

Contents

1. Package the game
2. Set up Steamworks (once)
3. Create the app
4. Make the store page
5. Upload a build
6. Try it through Steam
7. Reviews, Coming Soon, and release
8. Updates
9. Licences and AI
10. Good to know

1. Package the game

/gamegen --package steam

On a game you’ve already made (or add it to a request: /gamegen a frog who hops between lily pads --package). gamegen:

• adds what a desktop game needs: a Quit button, full screen (F11 or Alt+Enter switches), and controller support (Steam Deck is a controller);
• builds dist/windows/<Game>/<Game>.exe and dist/linux/<Game>/<game>, and a zip of each;
• tests the Linux build (the Windows one needs a Windows computer: try the exe there before uploading);
• makes, in dist/steam/: the store images, the store text, the upload files, and STEAM.md, a checklist of what’s left.

To make just an app without Steam: --package windows or --package linux. Mac apps aren’t made yet: they have to be signed and notarized with a paid Apple Developer account, on a Mac.

2. Set up Steamworks (once)

1. Sign in to Steamworks with your Steam account and join the Steamworks program (Steam Direct).
2. Fill in the company or personal details, the bank account Valve pays into, and the tax interview. Valve verifies your identity; it can take a few days, so start early.
3. Pay the app fee: $100 per game. Valve pays it back once the game has earned enough (Valve’s page on the fee).

3. Create the app

1. In Steamworks, create the app with the credit from the fee. Steam gives it an app ID.
2. Under SteamPipe → Depots, add two depots: one for Windows and one for Linux (set each one’s operating system). Each gets a depot ID.
3. Under Installation → General, add two launch options:
   • Windows: executable <Game>.exe;
   • Linux: executable <game> (the lowercase name gamegen printed, such as bloom-hop).
4. Put the app and depot IDs in your game’s design/STATUS.md, such as Steam app: 1234560 (Windows depot 1234561, Linux depot 1234562), so gamegen fills them into the upload files next time.

4. Make the store page

gamegen made these in dist/steam/store/; upload them in the store page editor (Valve’s list of assets):

Image	Size
Header capsule	920 × 430
Small capsule	462 × 174
Main capsule	1232 × 706
Vertical capsule	748 × 896
Library capsule	600 × 900
Library header	920 × 430
Library hero (no text)	3840 × 1240
Library logo (transparent)	1280 × 720
Screenshots (at least five)	1920 × 1080

Also on the store page:

• The descriptions, from dist/steam/store/description.md. Check they sound like you and say what’s fun.
• The price (or free), languages, and the controls it supports (keyboard, controller).
• The content survey, including the disclosure that the game was made with AI (see Licences and AI).
• A trailer is optional, but it helps a lot.

Submit the store page for review. Valve says to allow 3 to 5 business days, and to submit at least 7 days before you want it to go live (Valve’s review process).

5. Upload a build

Uploads use Valve’s command-line tool, SteamCMD (download, and Valve’s upload guide).

1. Use a builder account. Make a separate Steam account for uploading, and give it only the permissions it needs in Steamworks (editing app metadata and publishing changes to Steam), rather than using your main account.
2. Fill in the IDs in dist/steam/scripts/app_build.vdf and the two depot_*.vdf files, if gamegen couldn’t (replace STEAM_APP_ID, STEAM_DEPOT_WINDOWS and STEAM_DEPOT_LINUX).

3. Upload, from the game’s dist/steam/scripts/ folder:

   steamcmd +login <builder account> +run_app_build "$(pwd)/app_build.vdf" +quit
   

   The first time, Steam Guard asks for a code; after that the login is remembered.

4. The upload doesn’t go live on its own (SetLive is left empty). In Steamworks, under SteamPipe → Builds, put the new build on a private beta branch first (make one under Branches, with a password).

6. Try it through Steam

Install the game from Steam on the beta branch (in your library, the game’s Properties → Betas), on Windows and, if you have one, on a Steam Deck or a Linux computer. Check it starts, plays with a controller, saves (quit and start again), and quits.

Steam Cloud (optional): to back up saves, turn on Steam Cloud with Auto-Cloud in Steamworks, with these folders (the game’s name as it shows in the app):

• Windows: %APPDATA%/<Game>/Local Storage/
• Linux: ~/.config/<Game>/Local Storage/

7. Reviews, Coming Soon, and release

1. Build review. Once the store page is approved, put a build on the default branch and submit it for review: Valve installs and plays it, and checks it matches the store page. Allow at least 7 business days (Valve’s release steps).
2. Coming Soon. The store page has to be up as “Coming Soon” for at least two weeks before release, so people can wishlist it. Within 14 days of the date, it can’t be changed without asking Valve.
3. Release. When both reviews are approved and the date arrives, press Release App in Steamworks.

8. Updates

Make the change, package again, and upload:

/gamegen --change make the last level a little easier --package steam

gamegen raises the version each time. Upload as in step 5, try it on the beta branch, then set the build live on the default branch. Updates don’t need another review.

9. Licences and AI

• AI disclosure. Steam asks whether a game uses AI-generated content, and how. A gamegen game does: its art, sound, and code were generated. Say so honestly in the content survey.
• Music and sound. Audio made on ElevenLabs’ free plan can’t be used commercially. If you sell the game (or might), remake the audio on a paid plan first: gamegen’s STEAM.md says if this applies.
• Fonts. gamegen bundles fonts with their licence files; the ones it uses (such as OFL fonts) allow commercial games.
• Your own content. gamegen makes original games, but check nothing in yours borrows a name, character, or logo from someone else’s.

10. Good to know

• Size. Each build is about 300 MB unzipped (most of it is the Electron runtime, the same for every game).
• Steam Deck. A gamepad-ready game usually runs well on Steam Deck, natively with the Linux build. Valve tests games for its “Deck Verified” badge itself; the screen is 1280 × 800.
• The Steam overlay (Shift+Tab) may not show up in an Electron game. The game works the same without it; achievements and other Steam features aren’t added yet.
• Testing a build yourself before Steam: unzip dist/<game>-windows.zip on a Windows computer and run the exe.

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This guide comes with gamegen. Steam’s rules change from time to time; Valve’s Steamworks documentation is the final word.