Steam is the dominant platform for buying and playing PC games. It hosts tens of thousands of titles, from big-budget releases to small independent projects, and frequently runs sales that discount games heavily. Beyond the store, Steam provides a friends list, chat, achievements, cloud saves, and a community hub for each game where players share screenshots, guides, and mods. The Workshop lets you install user-created content with a click.

For developers, Steam is the primary distribution channel for PC games, with tools for updates, analytics, and community management. Valve, the company behind Steam, also makes games like Counter-Strike and Dota 2, and runs the Steam Deck handheld. A free account lets you buy and play games, while optional subscriptions and in-game purchases exist for some titles. If you play games on a computer, you almost certainly have Steam installed.