Steam page optimization: capsule, trailer, tags and screenshots

01When to publish your page

Publish it as soon as your genre and core mechanics are set, your art style is final, you can show at least three environments, and you have a gameplay trailer and a professional capsule. Steam gives no free visibility when a page goes live, so there's no momentum to save: an early page simply collects wishlists longer. Valve requires a public Coming Soon page at least two weeks before release.

02Steam capsule sizes and rules

Valve's required capsules for the store and the library, drawn to scale:

• Header capsule: 920 × 430 px.
• Small capsule: 462 × 174 px. The logo should nearly fill it, so it stays readable at its smallest size.
• Main capsule: 1232 × 706 px.
• Vertical capsule: 748 × 896 px.
• Page background (optional): 1438 × 810 px.

On the header, main and vertical capsules, Valve allows no text beyond your game's title: no quotes or slogans. For time-limited messages (an update, a sale), use artwork overrides, which expire on their own.

The capsule appears in every list, sale and recommendation row: practitioners advise paying a professional, even if it's your only expense (quotes range from about $250 to $2,000).

03Steam library asset sizes

Once players own your game, the Steam library shows other images, all required:

• Library capsule: 600 × 900 px, the portrait tile of the library. Title only, no other text.
• Library header: 920 × 430 px (your store header capsule is used if you don't set one).
• Library hero: 3840 × 1240 px, at the top of the game's library page, with no text at all. Keep what matters within the centered 860 × 380 px safe area.
• Library logo: a transparent PNG, 1280 px wide and/or 720 px tall, placed over the hero.

Library assets only show once your store page is published.

04Screenshots

• At least 5 screenshots, 1920 × 1080 minimum, 16:9.
• Gameplay only: no concept art, pre-rendered cinematics, awards or marketing text.
• Mark at least 4 as suitable for all ages: otherwise they may not appear in some places on Steam, including the front page.

05Your trailer: gameplay in the first seconds

Since June 2026, Steam plays the start of your trailer when someone hovers your capsule on its home page. A logo or a cinematic intro wastes that moment.

• Gameplay within the first 2 to 3 seconds.
• 90 to 180 seconds in total, shots of 3 to 5 seconds, interface visible.
• Variety (places, enemies, abilities), nothing repeated more than three times.

06Tags: who Steam shows your game to

Tags feed Steam's recommendations and genre pages, up to 20 per game. Take the tags that popular, similar games use and that truly apply to yours. Then check the "More like this" row on your page: if the games it shows don't look like yours, your tags are sending you to the wrong players. Tags also decide which Steam themed fests invite your game.

Page ready? Next come the demo and your first festivals.

07Check your page against games like yours

NextWishlist reads your Steam page every night, checks it against Valve's rules and against the pages of games like yours, and tells you what to fix first. Join the private beta.

Steam page optimization: quick answers

Sources

Valve's rules can change: the official Steamworks page always wins. Practitioner benchmarks are surveys of developers, given as ranges.

• Valve, Store graphical assets (Steamworks) (read Oct 28, 2026)
• Valve, Library assets (Steamworks) (read Oct 28, 2026)
• Valve, Coming Soon pages (Steamworks) (read Oct 28, 2026)
• Valve, “A Refreshed Steam Store Home Page” (June 2026)
• Valve, “Update to Store Tags” (May 2026)
• Chris Zukowski, “When should I post my Steam Coming Soon page?” (March 10, 2025)
• Derek Lieu, “The simplest trailer to make for your Steam page” (2021)
• presskit.gg, “How to build a game demo” (updated February 19, 2026)
• Steam Page Analyzer, “How to get Steam wishlists” (June 10, 2026)