Steam is much more than just a launcher. We show you features that many don’t know about and explain why you should definitely use them.
For many, Steam is just a launcher to start PC games, which is not fundamentally wrong. But those who limit themselves to that miss out on some of the platform’s most useful features. Because Steam can do much more than just start games. Many Steam features remain unused simply because they are not well known.
As reported by the site 3Djuegos, Valve offers numerous possibilities with Steam that enhance or simply make the gaming experience more pleasant. Some of these may seem unremarkable at first glance, but can be very practical in everyday life, especially for those who regularly game on PC.
What happens if you can no longer use your Steam account yourself? In the video, a player poses this legitimate question directly to Valve.
The Features at a Glance
This is how you can organize your game library: Those who own many games know: organization is worth its weight in gold. Steam has long offered the ability to sort your library individually. But especially exciting is the feature to customize the appearance of individual games directly.
You can determine cover, header, and even icons yourself. This works quite simply by right-clicking on the game, then selecting “Manage” and “Set Custom Artworks”. In the community, there are even platforms like SteamGridDB, where you can find thousands of alternative covers.
The Overlay as a Practical Help: The Steam overlay, which can be opened during gameplay with the Shift + Tab shortcut, contains much more than just the friends list. It offers a small list of features that you can use while gaming:
- Access to your achievements to track progress directly
- A clock with timer function for game time or events
- Access to game overview, guides, discussions, and your screenshots
- An integrated web browser for looking up tips or guides
- Settings for your controller
- Management of server and LAN matches
- Ability to capture gameplay without additional software
- Quick access to various game settings
Especially noteworthy is the integrated notepad. You can make notes and even fix them as a semi-transparent overlay on the screen. The feature even works with non-Steam games and saves notes in the cloud.
Does Steam still have a music player? Although Valve has discontinued the classic music player for its own MP3s, there is still the option to play game soundtracks directly via Steam. You can find these by clicking “View” and then “Soundtracks” in the upper left corner of the client. Many deluxe or collector’s editions include the soundtrack as a bonus – so you can accompany relaxing gaming sessions with suitable music.
This is how you stay informed about events and updates: Developers can enable their own event notifications on Steam. This means you can set reminders for livestreams, updates, or events, either via email or through the mobile Steam app.
If you want to avoid missing a map update or want to be part of an in-game event, you should regularly check the “News” section under the “Store” tab. There you’ll also find an overview of all events relevant to you.
What to do if you want to find teammates again? Whether for friend requests or reporting cheaters: If you want to know who you last played with in an online game, you can easily find out. By going to “View” → “Players”, Steam shows a list of the most recent people you’ve met. From there, you can view profiles, add friends, or block players.
With Steam, you can even earn money: Under the “Community” tab in the Steam client, you will find the “Market”. This is a community platform where players can buy and sell items, crates, trading cards, and other game objects.
Many games on Steam give you just such trading cards while playing, which you can sell on the marketplace. The proceeds go directly into your Steam wallet and can be used for future purchases. Alternatively, you can also combine the cards into badges to increase your profile level. Higher levels unlock cosmetic bonuses and practical advantages, such as additional friend slots.
How can you get rid of annoying game suggestions? Not every game that the Steam algorithm suggests to you is really interesting. Therefore, you can actively ignore games in the store. Using the “Ignore” button on a game’s store page, you can ignore games in the future. There you can also choose to hide games you’ve played on another platform in the store.
While Steam is constantly working on new features to improve your gaming experience, there is now a feature that is particularly helpful if you have performance issues. Finally, you can see exactly who or what is causing poor game performance – a real relief for many gamers.
