Steam's homepage pushes not only big-name titles, but also those that Valve's recommendation engine thinks would interest you based on your wish list, past purchases, and recent gaming sessions. Fire Pro Wrestling World started as an Early Access title, and after a series of updates, moved to the regular store as an excellent, finished game. You buy Early Access titles in unfinished form, so they may have more bugs and fewer features than completed, polished games. This section is the petri dish in which video games grow. There's another, riskier way to buy Steam games: Early Access. For more, check out our feature on the best free games to claim. The Epic Games Store wants to be Steam’s biggest rival, and while Epic’s library can’t compare, the store frequently gives away the games it does have for free. Buying games on Humble Bundle (owned by PCMag’s parent company, Ziff Davis) can save you money, donate to a good cause, and still give you a Steam key, anyway. You’ll find plenty of great deals on Steam, but the truly frugal gamer should stay aware of all their options. It was during Steam's Winter Sale that you could buy Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death, the platform's best bargain-bin title, for just 99 cents. Steam's midweek and weekend sales reduce game prices by a great deal, but it's Valve's legendary, thematic Steam seasonal sales that feature incredibly deep discounts on individual games, publishers' entire libraries, or bundles of their top games. There are numerous free-to-play games, too, like Crusader Kings II and Ring of Elysium. Indie and older games can cost anywhere from $5 to $19.99, depending on their release date and popularity. Newer games are priced similarly to retail releases, with most big titles costing $49.99 or $59.99. In fact when you purchase games via itch.io, what you are actually buying are Steam activation keys. Like itch.io, however, Steam has a wide array of indie titles. That said, the store isn't a comprehensive library of legacy titles (for a wider selection of older games, try GOG.com). Steam's library goes back several decades, and it includes excellent classic games like Half-Life and Psychonauts. Even competitors with their own digital game stores, like EA and Microsoft, now sell games on Steam. It has a variety that its competitors can't match. In addition, Valve produces one of the finest VR headsets on the market, so you'll find many VR games on Steam. ![]() Of course, as Steam is a Valve product, it has titles you won't find in other PC game stores, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Half-Life: Alyx, and Portal. Still, Steam currently offers thousands of titles, ranging from simple arcade-like games (Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+) to simulations ( Football Manager) to AAA behemoths ( Monster Hunter World). For example, you can only buy Overwatch from and Fortnite from the Epic Games Store. If there's a major new PC game, Steam likely has the title-provided that the game's publisher isn't selling it exclusively via another store. The free Steam app is a terrific way to buy new releases or preorder upcoming releases. Steam Machines may not have taken off, but you'll find Linux titles, which is great for Steam Deck owners who don't want to solely rely on the Proton combability layer for Windows games (more on that in a bit). Steam offers mostly Windows games along with some macOS titles. The Steam app remains our Editors' Choice pick for PC gaming marketplaces, despite lacking integrated video recording capabilities and a way for its users to speak to a customer service representative should they experience a problem. Valve's PC gaming client offers a store, cloud saves, remote downloads, video streaming, and many other gamer-friendly features for your desktop, laptop, or Steam Deck. Steam, however, is infinitely more fun to explore. ![]() Both apps are the leaders in their respective categories, both are massive in size and scope, and both may be intimidating to first-time users. Steam is the Adobe Photoshop of video game distribution.
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