What are the rules for selling games on Steam?
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The rules for selling games on Steam are straightforward: as long as your game complies with the Steam Terms of Service, you will only need to create an account and pay a one-time fee of US$100 to publish your game on Steam, which will be refunded if your game makes $1,000 in gross revenue from sales on the Steam store. To sell your own digital games on Steam, you absolutely need a business license, and you must follow the guidelines and rules set by Steam to avoid any penalties or account restrictions.
Understanding Steam’s Rules and Regulations
To navigate the world of selling games on Steam, it’s essential to understand the platform’s rules and regulations.
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
- Is it possible to sell games on Steam?: Yes, it is possible to sell games on Steam, but you cannot sell games from your library, as digital distribution is more like “renting for life,” and a game added to your library is activated for your account and its owner cannot be changed.
- Do you need a license to sell games on Steam?: Yes, if you want to sell your own digital games on Steam, you absolutely need a business license.
- Is it legal to sell stuff on Steam?: Selling games from Steam is against the rules and can get your account banned, but selling items and skins is technically not against the rules, although Valve will offer no protection, and scams can occur.
Selling Items on Steam
- How does selling on Steam work?: To sell items on Steam, you can use the Steam Community Market, where you can list your items for sale, and other users can purchase them.
- How to Sell Items on the Steam Community Market: You can sell items on the Steam Community Market by opening Steam, navigating to Community > Market, clicking Sell an Item, selecting the item you want to sell, and entering the price you’re willing to accept.
- What is the Steam fee for selling?: Valve charges a 5% Steam Fee on the user’s set item sell value, and in some cases, a game-specific fee, which is determined by the game developer.
Accounts and Trading
- Can you get banned for selling Steam account?: Yes, Steam accounts cannot be bought or sold, and if Steam’s support team notices an account has been sold, the account will be permanently locked.
- What are the consequences of selling an account?: The consequences of selling an account include the account being permanently locked, and the buyer and seller may face penalties, including VAC bans, which are permanent and non-negotiable.
- Am I trade banned on Steam?: You can check if your Steam account can trade by logging in and going to the Community Market, where any applicable trading restrictions will be displayed.
Game Development and Publishing
- How to sell your own game?: To sell your own game, you need to reach out to a representative at each store, introduce your game, and compile what each site needs, including Steam, and create a master “package” list of the assets you’ll need.
- How much does it cost to publish a game on Steam?: Steam charges a fee of $100 for each game you submit on Steam Direct, which can be recouped once your product has generated at least $1,000 adjusted gross revenue from the Steam Store.
- How can I publish my game for free?: You can publish your game for free on platforms like Itch.io, Isotopic, Game Jolt, and Kongregate, which offer a range of tools and services for indie game developers.
Steam Policies and Fees
- Does Steam take 30% of sales?: Yes, Steam takes a 30% cut on sales totaling less than $10 million in value, and the percentage is the same for all publishing/purchasing entities.
- Why does Steam charge 30%?: Steam charges 30% to host the data and provide Steam cloud, Steam community, and Achievement services, and the publisher is paid the remaining 70%, although Steam usually holds a portion of that for taxation purposes.
- Will Steam ban you for too many refunds?: There is no real “limit” to how many times you can refund a game, but Steam is not a renting service, and abusing the refund system can result in penalties, including being locked from refunding after some warnings.