Applications similar to Steam. Gaming platform Steam

“,” experienced gamers say goodbye to each other. And to any avid lover computer games it's clear what we're talking about we're talking about. About a place where each of them is a superhero. About where you want to return again and again. About the virtual “house” where sweet games live.

Steam is...

You probably already guessed what Steam is. This is a gaming platform, a service designed for purchasing and launching computer games, communication between players, creating gaming communities and much more related to gaming topics.

Being the brainchild of Valve, in the early 2000s Steam was used only to distribute and activate the developer's products. Today it is a full-fledged social network with many functions, like Facebook or VK, which supports more than 10,000 games and applications from different manufacturers: Sega, Epik Games, Ubisoft, Rockstar Games, etc., including many free ones.

The Steam platform exists in a web version, accessible through a browser, and as an application for all major desktop and mobile devices. operating systems- Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, Android, iOS, as well as Samsung Smatr TV Tizen OS (with restrictions). Installation and use of the service is completely free, payment is charged only for content.

Features, pros and cons of the platform

IN last years Steam's functionality has grown to such a scale that even a developer probably cannot say which of its functions is the main one. Its users are provided the following possibilities:

• play on any supported device;
• buy content at promotions with a 50-75% discount and play paid games for free, and such promotions take place almost constantly;
• install game updates as a priority - the platform does this automatically;
• do not think about the safety of game data - Steam also takes care of this;
• create and save backup copies of game distributions;
• activate supported games purchased in boxed versions;
• buy games as gifts for other users;
• return the money spent if you don’t like the game (the option remains up to 14 days after purchase, provided that the toy was played for no longer than 2 hours);
• create personal pages and groups, join communities;
• find like-minded people and friends;
• exchange messages and communicate in built-in voice chat;
• share achievements;
• exchange, buy and sell game items— inventory, cards, etc.;
• take screenshots and shoot videos, post videos on YouTune;
• record and broadcast streams without third-party programs;
• receive the latest news about events in the gaming world;
• listen to music stored on the device instead of game soundtracks;
• Give other users access to your game library (family sharing);
• customize the design of your personal page to your liking;
• use services technical support developer.

And since Steam is the official store for game content, the products that are distributed through it are 100% legal and safe.

Among the disadvantages users of the service attributed:

• Inability to use means of gaining illegal privileges over other players (cheats).
• Inability to run pirated content.
• There is a high risk of losing your account, and with it - cash which are kept on the balance sheet. Steam user accounts are very attractive to attackers and are often attacked. To prevent attacks, Steam Guard is built into the platform, but it does not guarantee complete security.

Some people think that buying content through Steam is too expensive and for this reason they do not use the platform. However, it makes it possible not only to spend, but also to earn real money. One of the ways to make money mentioned above is by selling gaming equipment. Also, some users manage to unofficially sell previously purchased games, and experienced gamers make money by promoting and selling upgraded accounts.

How to register on Steam

To register for the Steam service, launch a pre-installed application or open the website store.steampowered.com, go to the “Login” section and click the “Create account” button.

Enter your email address, its confirmation and verification code. Accept the user agreement and confirm registration by clicking on the link that will come in the email.

After confirmation, return to the registration section, create a unique name that will be displayed to other users, and a password. Click "Complete Registration".

How to link a payment instrument to your Steam account and top up your account in the system

To link a bank card to your Steam profile, go to the “About Account” menu. In the Store Transactions section, click Add a payment method to this account.

Select a payment system from the list and enter the card details - number, expiration date, CVV/CVC code.

In the “Account Information” section, indicate your real first name, last name, postal code, residential address and telephone number. In the “Billing address” and “Billing address 2” fields, enter the street, house/building number and apartment number.

After linking the card, funds for purchases in the Steam store will be debited from its balance.

In addition to linked bank cards, you can use money in your personal Steam account to pay for content.

To top up your account balance, do the following:

• Click the “+Top up balance” button in the “Store Transactions” section. Select one of the suggested amounts (minimum 150 rubles).

• Choose a convenient payment method. In the CIS countries, Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express cards are available for this; payment systems PayPal, Yandex.Money and Webmoney; check mobile phone and cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Once you have made your selection, click Continue.

• Further actions depend on the specific payment method. Complete the payment by following the instructions on the screen.

How to download games

The selection, purchase and installation of games are made through the “Store” section of the main menu. The distribution of content by genre and other categories (new releases, top sellers, etc.) is in the column on the left.

Clicking on the game banner will take you to its purchase page. Here you can find more detailed information about the offer: trailers, gameplay screenshots, description, system requirements, as well as the game distributions themselves and additional paid content. The same page contains information about discounts and promotions.

To buy something from what is offered, click the “Add to cart” button next to the product and follow the instructions to make a payment. Purchased game and additional content will be uploaded to your Library.

How to add friends

To add Steam users as friends, go to the section of the main menu named after you and select “Friends”. In the “Find Friends” field, enter your username. Once it is found, click "Add as Friend".

In addition, the “Add as a friend” button is present on the personal pages of Steam users:

And on your personal profile page in the “Your Friends” section there is a search bar for users by login and game name (the system shows who you played with):

The “add as a friend” feature becomes available after replenishing your account balance or making a purchase of $5 or more.

Generally Steam platform quite simple to understand and master; just wander through the sections and everything becomes clear without explanation. Moreover, it is completely translated into Russian, and besides it supports 25 more languages ​​of the world.

Back in 2001, Valve Software began developing a new, unique solution. The development was named "Steam" and with its help, the company was able to sell first its own games, and a little later the creations of third-party studios.

Through Steam, players can purchase products not only from Valve Software, but also from other developers and publishers. The list of titles is quite extensive; the service sells games from publishers such as RockstarGames, UbiSoft, EA, SEGA and others who have signed a contract with Valve Corporation.

List of main features for players

• Sale of games and add-ons.
• Film distribution.
• Support for projects with patches with the ability to install them automatically.
• Global network for connecting users. Personal messages, groups, forums and other types of communication. As a result, the company managed not only to organize the sale of games, but also to create a large-scale social gaming network.
• Convenient work with user modifications.
• A trading platform where you can sell various items in games with this functionality.

In 2003, on September 12, Valve announced that all of the company’s online projects would now work only through Steam servers, and subsequent use of previously purchased copies would also be carried out through the service. This statement was met with hostility by many people, so most players used special patches for retail versions of games, and a little later, a hacked version of Steam called “NoSteam” appeared. The hacked version of the platform quickly gained popularity in countries where the official purchase of company projects was difficult due to the payment system. NoSteam also became popular in countries where piracy was rampant.

Although many years ago online distribution seemed an impossible task and many analysts predicted failure of Valve’s brainchild, Steam is now the most popular gaming platform on PC, judge for yourself, in 2015 the number of active Steam members exceeded 125 million (!) people. And the daily online presence is impressive; on average, there are about ten million people online.

Official version versus pirated version

Understanding something new is difficult for many people, and old-schoolers who prefer pirated licenses are no exception. versions of Counter-Strike or using NoSteam. But still, having a license immediately cuts off a whole series of problems and questions that arise; you just need to spend a few minutes studying Steam, fortunately, everything there is convenient and intuitive.

To a logical question like “what benefits will it give me? licensed game" can be answered in different ways. Firstly, all problems with servers will disappear, it will be possible to join all servers, both licensed and using NoSteam. Secondly, there will be no difficulties in differentiating between client and server versions (which happens very often, doesn’t it?). Thirdly, a strong argument is the developed gaming community and Steam functionality. Groups, modding, forums, friends who are always visible, stable work, etc. There really are a lot of advantages and pirates cannot stand any comparison.

Let's start playing Counter-Strike 1.6 via Steam

First you need to download the Steam client through the official website. After installing it, you need to register in the system by indicating your nickname, email and desired password. Unfortunately, at the moment it is not possible to purchase only one version of the game; the project is distributed in the form of four different packages, which include various games from the developer.

• Counter-Strike: Condition Zero for $6.99, the cheapest option to buy, it includes the original Counter-Strike as well as its version called Condition Zero
• Counter-Strike1 Anthology priced at $9.99, where you can find all versions of the game, but without Counter-Strike:Source and GO.
• The third package is called Counter-Strike Complete, it contains both old versions of the game and new ones, Global Offensive, as well as Source.
• Fans can please themselves with an anthology of games Valve Complete Pack, it includes all the company's developments.

Having chosen the desired purchase option, click on the “add to cart” button and pay for it in any way available to you, from bank card, to electronic currencies, for example, Qiwi or Webmoney.

Steam is not the only platform where you can buy cheap games on sale; there are many analogues and alternatives to this client. In this article we will look at the TOP 10 stores similar to Steam, where you can pick up your favorite games.

Probably the most famous among alternatives and distributors of indie bundles, Green Man Gaming offers a full online store that sells digital keys for Steam, Origin, Uplay, Battle.net and much more. The store offers standard retail prices on most items, with additional discounts for "VIP" customers who use the EXP loyalty program. GMG complies with the various DRM anti-piracy schemes released by Valve, Blizzard, EA and other major publishers, and does not use a dedicated download client.

GamersGate

It is a digital distribution service that offers a mix of keys and direct downloads for DRM-free games. Although their range is not as wide as some competitors.

OnePlay

OnePlay offers a web store interface and downloads keys for all major PC publishers, and it also has a Windows client that offers direct downloads. Additionally, OnePlay has a unique advantage over most other stores on this list: PC games can be "rented." That is, games can be downloaded after a small rental payment and played for 30 days. The selection is quite limited at the moment, but the rental system allows players to run games without a constant Internet connection and up to two machines. OnePlay offers a $10/month VIP subscription that provides open access to a large library of legacy and indie games on PC and Android.

GOG (Good Old Games)

GOG is a distributor created by the people at CD Projekt, developers of the well-known Witcher series. It specializes in a large catalog of older games that can sometimes be difficult to find on other services. Although GOG is Lately has expanded to newer high-profile and indie games. This limits the overall selection in some ways (and there are no Steam keys), but the prices for older games are extremely competitive.

Direct2Drive

Direc2Drive is actually the ancestor of the old game store IGN, which is now absorbed into the holding company and operates as an independent business. The basic idea remains the same as before: pay for games and download them immediately. Most titles in the store still offer direct downloads through a web interface, although the company also sells big games with DRM activation exclusively on Steam, Origin, Uplay, etc.

Humble Store

Better known for its periodic free games and bundles included with Humble now offers a more traditional online store. Humble's library has a definite focus on indie and small publisher games, but there are offerings from more major players, such as Square-Enix and 2K. 5% of the price of all purchases goes to the Child’s Play charity event. In addition to direct sales and periodic bundles, some of which come with Steam keys, there is also a $12 monthly subscription with the coolest games.

Itch.io

Itch.io is all about indie. While most of the games offered on the site and download client are free (thanks to an open mobile-style presentation policy), developers can add a price tag to their games, and many popular indie developers now use Itch.io as their primary distribution platform. Check promotional game bundles if you want to purchase something.

Windows Store

Did you know that Windows 10 now has a built-in game store? Although the selection of games on the official Microsoft store is small, there are a few exclusives that cannot be found in any other stores along with the PC versions of some popular mobile games. Several select titles can share saves and achievements on the Xbox and PC versions.

Origin

Many gamers are hesitant to trust EA's semi-exclusive game distribution system because its existence means we can't get some of the publisher's biggest titles on Steam or elsewhere. But it might be worth checking out Origin for the following reasons: The platform has a limited selection of indie games that aren't published by EA. Origin offers "no questions asked" refunds on games within 24 hours of installation or 7 days after purchase. Origin often gives out free digital copies of older but notable titles from EA's publishing library. Origin Access, a $5 monthly subscription, gives players free reign of a limited selection of older games and free previews of new ones.

Uplay

Ubisoft's Uplay is basically the same thing as Origin, a combined game store and social/DRM platform. But unlike Origin, Ubisoft offers its major releases on other stores like Steam (though players usually have to download and activate the Uplay client). However, it might be worth checking the Uplay store before making a big purchase from Ubisoft: sometimes discounts aren't available elsewhere.

Direct downloads and purchases from developers

Some advanced game developers, such as Taleworlds, Mojang, and Cloud Imperium (as well as most MMO publishers), offer direct purchases on their sites and host the game files themselves. So the price is often lower than in the store. You get your game for less and the developer doesn't have to pay the distributor - everyone wins! Be sure to check and make sure that a new game The game you want is offered for direct purchase on the developer's website, and remember that non-Steam games can be manually added to your Steam library for convenience.

Keys to Plati.ru, steampay, G2A and similar sites

Remember that you can always buy a key or gift on any of the trading platforms. There people sell those games that they bought on sale to those who did not have time to do so, and make good money from it

It seems that just recently all gamers were running joyfully from the store with discs in their hands and inserting them into the drive. Then they waited anxiously for hours until the game was installed. But that time is a thing of the past and a new era has already arrived - the era of gaming platforms. One of these is Steam, which is owned by Valve with its permanent leader Gabe Newell.

What is Steam

Steam is a digital distribution service for licensed computer games and programs owned by Valve, a well-known computer game developer. Steam serves as an activation service, online downloads, automatic updates and news for games both from Valve itself and from third-party developers under an agreement with Valve.

This platform can even be called a social network, because with the help of it you can communicate with friends, create groups and play games as a group, which all players in the group have in the library.

Navigation

The controls are quite simple, there is a search and different categories of games. There are also additional features such as recommendation lists where you can leave a review for any game you purchase. And there is also " Marketplace", in which you can sell and buy in-game items, of which rare ones are especially valuable. Then the proceeds can be withdrawn and bought for yourself something in real life.

All purchased games are located in one program in the "Library" section, and are not scattered across the hard drive. On Steam, all games are always updated automatically to latest version, and this is good, because updates fix bugs and shortcomings in games, and also allow users to appreciate interesting innovations. For example, themed, holiday, or simply planned. Steam also has a built-in browser.

Payment Methods

There are many ways to pay for games. Another nice detail is that you can give a game or in-game items to your friend or loved one by adding some text or a wish.

If the game does not work or the user does not like, it can always be returned (if it was played for less than two hours). The money is returned after some time.

All prices are translated into Russian. Many games can be bought cheaper than in the store. In addition, there are often sales that allow you to buy games at crazy discounts. Sometimes discounts on popular games There are up to 85%, less often you can see 90% and 95%. Well, no one canceled the “Free Games” section!

Checking the integrity and defragmentation of game files

Steam supports verification of game files by comparing their checksum with information on Valve's servers. This procedure is forced to run if, when you try to run Steam game does not find its main files, the user can also launch it manually. Upon completion of the procedure, Steam redownloads damaged or modified files from the Internet.

Achievements

The “Achievements” section is a kind of collection that is replenished when the user performs certain actions in a particular game, receiving achievements for this. In other words, these are optional game tasks, each of which saves information in the game. To collect the entire collection of achievements in the game, you need to read what exactly you need to do to get each of them.

Levels

The Steam level is a very interesting innovation. You can gain levels not only in games, but also in your account. Steam level affects the number of slots for friends and others pleasant trifles in the form of installing backgrounds, showcases, etc. You can raise your level by purchasing games and creating badges, which you can later display on your profile page. Badges are created from collectible cards that drop during the game.

Wish Lists

You can easily and simply put together your own list and distribute games according to the user’s level of desire. What is also convenient is that the price for each game is indicated, and if suddenly a discount appears on something, it will be difficult to miss it.

"Greenlight" site

Users can post their own games to the "Greenlight" site, where other users can look at the preview, read the description and vote for this game to be released for sale, or say that they would not buy it. This is very useful for new developers.