Used by 20 million gamers. Available to you for free.

steamgames.com/steamworks
Used by 20 million gamers.
Available to you for free.
You’re making a game for the largest and
greatest gaming platform on Earth —
the PC.
Your game can use the same platform that supports over 500 PC game
titles on Steam. Steamworks gives you access to a connected community
of 20 million gamers and a robust world-wide network, while providing a
rich set of proven features that let you develop, publish, and protect your
game.
Steamworks Games
Steamworks is a road-tested technology, shipping in tens of millions of retail and online
units throughout the world. Steamworks partners have published some of the most recent
top-tier, award-winning PC titles. Steamworks adds value and offsets costs to these titles
through a combination of Game Services and Publisher Services. Many of these partners have
added Steamworks features after the initial launch of their game, increasing sales while their
customers enjoy increasing value.
Steamworks is entirely free. There are no licensing fees and there's no
charge for bandwidth, retail copies, or OEM distribution.
With Steamworks, you avoid the overhead and delay of certification
requirements. Distribute your game on your terms, updating it as quickly
and frequently as you see fit.
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Steam Anti-Piracy
Steam Cloud
Steamworks' anti-piracy suite combines three approaches to anti-piracy: (1) Custom Executable Generation, (2)
Retail Encryption, and (3) Valuable Platform-Dependant Features. These work together to provide a seamless
end-user experience, protecting your game and giving real value to customers.
1. Custom Executable Generation
Custom Executable Generation creates a unique build of your game
for each user, making it difficult for any one user to share the
game with any other user. Each individual copy of a CEG-protected
game is only playable by the Steam account authorized to access
it. CEG is transparent, and does not impose limits on users. It lets
users access their content from any hardware, and allows
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
unlimited hardware configuration changes without the content
becoming unplayable. In fact, no changes are made to a user’s computer for CEG to work. Instead, CEG works in tandem with Steam
authentication, enabling content access based on user accounts,
not arbitrary hardware-based “rights-management” restrictions.
Store data in Steam Cloud for your users. The Steam Cloud API
allows your game to write and retrieve files for each user. Use
it for personalized settings like keyboard, mouse, and gamepad
configurations, multiplayer sprays, or even saved games. Steam
Cloud is a natural extension of the portability that Steam affords
gamers. Shipped with Left 4 Dead, Steam Cloud is now a proven
resource and is becoming an integral part of the Steam experience.
Matchmaking / Lobbies
Steamworks' multiplayer back-end is powered by robust matchmaking and lobby technology. The same technology that drives
the quick and accurate match-ups in Left 4 Dead can be used in
your game.
Steamworks CEG
Works with both peer-to-peer and server-based games.
Steamworks' built-in voice functionality enables players to work
quickly to strategize their next misson.
Multiplayer matchmaking - Players
connect and match to other players
quickly and accurately in
Left 4 Dead.
Your game isn’t yours, it’s your machine’s.
Your game is yours (and no one else’s).
2. Retail Encryption
3. Valuable Platform-Dependant Features
Protect your day-one release by shipping encrypted media to
stores world-wide. No need to worry that your game will leak from
a replicator or stock room — your game stays encrypted until the
moment you decide to release it.
Customers won’t want to pirate a game that's connected to 20
million gamers and a feature-rich platform. Features like Steam
Achievements, Anti-Cheat, Auto-Updating, and Steam Cloud simply
don’t exist outside of Steam.
Encryption technology also allows you to preload your game to users
on Steam. Download encrypted data weeks in advance so that players
have access to your game the moment it's released, increasing player
numbers and satisfaction during the critical first days.
Furthermore, constantly updating your game with upgrades and
content leaves the pirates in the dust — they are relegated to a
featureless game with no community of players.
In-Game DLC
Sell additional content from within your game to the customers
who want it most. Steamworks provides true in-game DLC, allowing
customers to select, buy, and use DLC — all without leaving the
game. Additionally, using Steamworks' DLC does not close off your
other channels. You are still free to sell the content at retail, either
with other online sites or through the Steam store.
DLC - Games like The Maw feature
downloadable content, enabling
players to access to additional game
content.
Additional Game Services
Additional Publishing Services
The Steam Community
Your game becomes the talk of the town as part of Steam’s
large and connected Steam Community. Friends will see friends
playing your game and will be able to organize matches, compare
achievements, and talk about the next match, sequels, favorite
parts, or their favorite villain.
Anti-cheat
With true cheat detection, keep cheaters from ruining it for the
rest of us. Extend the life and sales of your game by making sure
that the game plays as you intended it to when you shipped.
Real-time sales data
Log on to your personal sales and data tracking site to see your
product's statistics up-to-the-minute. Don’t wait for weeks to find
out where and how your game is selling. Real-time, worldwide
activation and useage reports give you the information you need
to make informed decisions about marketing and retail conditions
when they need to be made.
North America
Western Europe
Game stats and achievements - Create a robust community by having game
specific stats and achievements accessible to your customers and their friends.
Access from any PC
Your customers can sign in and use their game from any PC.
Access to their games is based on a customer account, not tied to
a computer. Plus, with built-in offline mode, your customers can
play on laptops when traveling — or anywhere else.
Persistent identity framework
Achievements, leaderboards, profiles, and avatars make your
game come alive, building your community and providing a strong
incentive to play more and recruit others.
Oceania
Asia
Eastern Europe
South East Asia
Russian Territories
Worldwide real-time data - Make better decisions about your product by being aware of
what is happening now throughout the world.
Voice chat
With built-in voice chat, players can talk to each other both inside
and outside the game.
Free Weekends and Guest Passes
Hold events like Free Weekends (or any length play period) to
entice customers and promote your game. Then securely and
efficiently turn the promotion off at the end of the period. Also
available is guest pass technology that allows you to promote your
game through your community. Let friends give free, limited-time
passes to their friends. This is proven tech that has been used with
our games and third parties.
Auto-updating
Be confident that all of your customers are running the most
current version of your game. Update and expand your game as
you see fit. Your community stays current, and your support burden
will be significantly reduced. With no certification process, you are
in control. Update as much as you want, with as much as you want
—there is no charge for bandwidth.
Territory control
Open up new markets. Games can be set to authenticate only
in specific regions, allowing you to go day-and-date worldwide
without the worry of grey marketing of products intended for
specific territories.
Key-based authentication
An easy, known, and proven path for customers to authenticate
their game, keys are the backbone for inventory control and sales
data. Keys can be customized for region, content, language, and
SKU.
Official Groups
Talk directly to your customers
and invite gamers from across
the Steam Community to be a
part of your Official Group on
Steam. Official Groups are run
solely by you. You can organize
matches, post concept art, announce news, or simply chat
about anything you like with
your customers. Each game and partner automatically has a spot
reserved — it’s up to you to say what you like and connect with
your customers.
Development tools
Beta-Testing
Run secure public betas of your game. Hold public betas and
choose from one participant to thousands, if you like. The timing
and scope of the beta is up to you.
Community user profile pages - Your game is
exposed by gamers to gamers throughout The
Steam Community. Plus, you can create your own
community pages to communicate with your
customers.
Bug reporting
Track most frequent crashes in real time and then triage based
on the number of unique users. Auto-collection of minidumps and
minidump parsing tools to make your job easier. Find and address
bugs before customers contact support.
Rapid and secure build distribution
The same tool that allows us to securely build and share Left 4
Dead between our offices in Seattle and Orange Country can be
used for your product as well. No more syncing to build trees to
playtest. Let your own internal version of Steam help you run more
frequent playtests at the click of a button.
Know your target audience
Use the results of the Steam Hardware Survey to look at your
game in particular, so you can better target your development and
support of games.
Installer
Reduce your support costs with Steamworks' updatable, proven,
and intelligent installer. Your installer can be auto-updated even
after delivering a gold master, ensuring that your customers have
the best experience from the first time they play your game.
“ …get down to the busy work of making fun games.”
> Joystiq.com
“…a concrete glimpse at the future of the PC gaming market.”
> Next Generation
“Knowing Valve's proven track record of success in the
PC game space, it's easy to understand why others would
want to come along for the ride.”
> 1up.com
Visit online
Get started today
steamgames.com/steamworks
For more information about Steamworks, contact:
Jason Holtman
Business Development
jasonh@valvesoftware.com
© 2009 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries.