Steam is the most popular store and multiplayer platform for PC games. Its use is easy and very accessible to users, but many of them don’t know that Steam has features that can significantly improve the gaming experience.
Below are 10 features you might not have noticed that are available all the time. This might come in handy to Indian gamers, in particular, because being the only customer to collaborate with local authorities to accept Indian debit and credit cards and implement localized pricing has made Steam the biggest distributor of video games in India.
# 1 Try the Beta Updates
Some games on Steam have so-called “beta update” programs where you can choose and try new features and changes before their release.
Right-click any game in your library and select Properties>Beta. If any of the beta programs are available, they’ll be displayed within the drop-down menu.
# 2 Use Storage Manager
Sometimes, it’s hard to know which games are taking up the most space in your collection. There’s a “Storage Manager” for this check.
You need to go to Steam settings and click on Downloads>Steam Library Folders. “Storage Manager” shows a list of all your installed games and their size. In the same place, there’s also a graph that shows how much space the user has left. Steam will even display the size difference between the base game title and any additional downloadable content. With each game that’s on the list, you have the option of deleting it or moving it to another folder.
It should be noted that Steam doesn’t keep track of all files created after game installation, especially if some of them are saved outside of Steam’s folders. This can be, for example, screenshots or configuration data files. Many games on Windows save files in the “My Games” folder, which Steam can’t track.
# 3 Add the Game to Your Wishlist
You may already know that Steam has the so-called “Wishlist” feature, i.e., a wish list containing games that you have saved for later viewing or purchase. We singled it out because it isn’t just A LIST.
If you add a game to the list that isn’t yet on the market, Steam will subsequently send you a notification by email that it has become available. Steam will notify you in the same way if a game on your list is currently discounted. To view the “Wishlist” feature, hover over the large “Store” link at the top of the screen and click on “Wishlist” from the drop-down menu.
# 4 Sale of Trading Cards
Steam periodically gives each user trading cards for the games they play (if they have that option). Cards are collected to get badges on your Steam profile. If you don’t care much about upgrading your Steam profile, you can sell cards on the “Steam Marketplace”. Each card is usually worth a few cents.
You can see all your trading cards by hovering over your username at the top of the screen and selecting “Inventory” from the pop-up menu. Below, clicking on a card will take you to information about its starting price on the community market. The value of the cards depends on the game. To put the card up for sale, enter its price in the “Buyer pays” field and click “Put it up for sale”.
# 5 Check Someone’s Name History
You can change your username on Steam at any time, and this can be a potential problem on your “Friends List.” Fortunately, there’s an option to check someone’s username history very quickly.
Find a specific person on the “Friends List,” click on the small icon with a downward arrow, and select “View Profile.” Below, click again on the down arrow icon next to the username, and a history of recent usernames for the same user will be displayed.
# 6 Check Linux (and Steam Deck) Compatibility
Steam is available for the Linux operating system, which includes the Steam OS platform that powers the Steam Deck handheld console. If you’re thinking of buying a Steam Deck, or want to see which games won’t be available on this console, there are a few places to get more information.
First, you need to check the information for each game in the Steam store. The list of platforms supported by the game is visible on the right next to the “Add to cart” or “Play Now” buttons. In that list, Windows and Mac platforms are easy to recognize by the logo, but for the Linux platform, an icon showing the Steam logo will be visible. Another place to view the same information in the Steam store is the “System Requirements” section, which you have to scroll to at the bottom of the screen.
It’s important to note that the Steam icon is displayed only if the game developer has full Linux support. A large number of games, however, can only run on Linux using Proton, Valve’s built-in Steam tool.
To find out which games are available for the Steam Deck console, there’s a “Steam Deck Compatibility” box at the bottom right of each game page. Another way to find out this information is through a filtered search on Steam.
# 7 Skip Initial Loading of the Steam Store
When you start up Steam, the Store opens first for the simple reason that it wants to direct users to purchase games. You can change this by opening the “Interface” tab within the “Settings.”
At this point, you need to select the “Library” option so that you have instant access to your game collection when you open Steam.
# 8 Give your Friends Nicknames
Another solution to possible problems with recognizing friends on Steam is the ability to give a nickname. The nickname will be information only for you and the other person will not see it.
Open the Friends List, click the icon with the down arrow, and select Manage>Change Nickname.
# 9 Install Multiple Games at Once
You’ll probably start downloading more games after you first install Steam (or later). It’s good to know that this doesn’t require clicking on each game in the list individually.
You need to hold down the “Ctrl” key, and each game you click on will be highlighted. Another option is to hold down the “Shift” key, click on the first game title, and finish the selection with the last game title, and you’ll have them all highlighted in a row. Once you’ve marked all the desired games, click on any of them and select “Install Selected.”
# 10 Check the Price History of the Game
The offers on Steam change every day, and some exclusive discounts could be presented to you as a unique and short-lived opportunity to buy a certain game. However, patience is recommended when buying games because you can easily check the price history of a particular game and how it has changed.
This capability isn’t a feature within Steam. To do this, you need to go to the SteamDB website, where you’ll be shown the history of game prices by all regions. This website is, by the way, a great resource for gaming stats and charts made by various criteria: video game genres, popularity, player counts, etc., such as “Most played eSports games.” This, for instance, can help indecisive gamers, stat collectors, and even bettors on eSports tournaments who, after seeing SteamDB charts, might switch from wagering on the best TF2 betting sites to wagering on online operators who have more extensive offers of more popular video game competitive tournaments.