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Stream a prerecorded video to Steam without OBS

22 Jun 2026 · 5 min read

You do not need OBS to put a prerecorded video on your Steam store page, and you do not need a PC left running. OBS Studio is free and powerful, but broadcasting with it means a machine streaming around the clock. Here is how to do it without OBS, and an honest comparison of the two.

How to do it without OBS

Steam does not care what sends the video. Your store page shows a broadcast for as long as something is pushing a feed to your RTMP upload URL and stream key, so any sender will do. With Loopcast the sender is our server, and the whole setup is four steps:

1.Get your RTMP upload URL and stream key from steamcommunity.com/broadcast/upload, signed in as the broadcasting account. Finding your Steam stream key walks through it.

2.Create a Loopcast stream for Steam and paste both values in.

3.Upload your video. Any 16:9 trailer or gameplay capture works, and we encode it to Steam’s broadcast spec for you, so there is no encoder to set up.

4.Press Go live, or put it on a schedule if it should only air at certain hours.

If you would rather not use a service either, ffmpeg can push a file straight to Steam from a command line with no OBS involved. Encoding a broadcast video shows how to prepare the file. It still needs a computer left on for as long as the broadcast runs, which is the part the rest of this page is about.

The setup

With OBS you install and configure an encoder, point it at Steam’s RTMP endpoint, and keep it running. With Loopcast you paste your stream key, upload a video, and start. There is no encoder to tune.

Reliability

A self-run stream depends on your PC, your power and your home internet all staying up for days at a time. If any one of them blips, your store page goes dark. A hosted broadcast runs from a datacenter and restarts automatically if it ever drops.

Cost

OBS itself is free, but the real cost is electricity and a machine tied up for the whole event.

▪A PC drawing roughly 0.3 kWh/hour over a 7-day event is about 50 kWh

▪At $0.20/kWh that is around $10 in power, plus network gear

▪Loopcast for the same 168 hours is about $5.04, with no machine tied up

See the full math in how pricing works.

Effort

OBS needs babysitting: watch for crashes, restart drops, keep the PC awake and online. Loopcast is upload once and walk away.

Prefer to send the stream yourself? The Steam RTMP streaming guide has the spec, the token and a working ffmpeg command.

When OBS still makes sense

If you want true live interaction, like a person on camera or live chat, OBS is the right tool. For an always-on looped trailer on your store page, a hosted broadcast is simpler and cheaper. Start a stream.

Keep going

SetupSteam broadcast with OBSThe exact OBS settings, and when not to use it.DevelopersSteam RTMP streaming guideSpec, token and a working ffmpeg command.RulesPrerecorded video on SteamYes, it is allowed. The fine print.CompareRoboStreamer alternativePrice, trial and platforms side by side.

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Upload a video, paste your stream key, hit start. From $0.72/day.

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