Free to Play on Steam: setup, in-game pricing, visibility and featuring
30 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
A Free to Play game on Steam is free to download and earns, if at all, from what players buy inside it. Valve treats most of it like a paid game, with a few differences in setup, pricing and featuring. This guide covers them, from Valve's Free To Play Games doc, checked 30 Oct 2026.
Setting a game as free
Pick it when you create the app in Steamworks: select This is a free product under Options. You do not enter pricing, because the game is a free license. Your game then shows a package priced "free" in the Store Package area. That package never becomes visible to players, but Steam needs it to recognize the game as free.
Selling content: DLC or in-game purchases
Free or paid, a game can sell content two ways, and both must go through the Steam Wallet.
| DLC | In-game purchases | |
|---|---|---|
| Own store page | Yes, one per piece of content | No |
| Who handles prices and inventory | Steam | Your backend (or the Steam Inventory Service) |
| Changing a price | Goes through Steam review | Any time, on your side |
| Discounts | Steam discounts | No discount setting; you lower the price |
| Payment | Steam Wallet | Steam Wallet |
Pricing in-game purchases
Prices are not entered in Steamworks. Your backend sets the price when it starts each transaction, so every purchase can be priced on its own. Most developers keep a pricing sheet with every item in every currency, read the player's preferred currency with GetUserInfo and pass the price with InitTxn.
Price in every supported currency. Valve recommends it, because players who see a price in a currency they do not know may cancel out of caution. Each currency has its own price increments.
Sources: Free To Play Games. Checked 30 Oct 2026. Valve updates these pages; the Steamworks docs always win.
Visibility
Valve says visibility mostly works the same as for paid games: featuring is largely algorithmic and reacts to bursts of interest, usually measured in revenue. For Free to Play games, in-game revenue counts the way sales do for paid games.
| Where | Free to Play games |
|---|---|
| Featured and Recommended (main capsule) | Featured the same way as paid games |
| Top Sellers | Included by default, with in-game revenue counted; players can tick a box to hide them |
| Popular New Releases | Uses player count as well as sales |
| Popular Upcoming | Uses wishlist numbers, paid or free |
How the charts are built is in Steam Top Sellers.
Curated featuring
Marketing and updates
Valve says marketing a free game is no different from a paid one. Reach players where they are, through social media, livestreaming or influencers, Reddit and community groups, conventions and trade shows. Paid marketing is optional. The main goal is to get as many new players as possible to try the game and keep them.
Switching from paid to free
Ask Valve through the support form. Valve asks you to give customers at least one week's notice, so they can decide whether to buy a game that is about to change its business model.
Where a broadcast fits
Valve lists livestreaming among the ways to reach players, and a free game lives or dies on how many try it. A store page broadcast shows the game moving to everyone who opens the page. Loopcast keeps one running from an uploaded video, billed per minute on air. You can try it free for 7 days, no card needed.
FAQ
How do I make my game Free to Play on Steam?
Choose it when you create the app in Steamworks: select "This is a free product" under Options. You do not enter a price, because the game is a free license.
Can a Free to Play game be in Steam Daily Deals?
Generally no. Valve says Free to Play games are not eligible for Daily Deals, Midweek deals or Weekend deals, but they can get other curated marketing, such as featuring on the Free to Play hub.
Do in-game purchases count toward Steam Top Sellers?
Yes. Top Sellers includes in-game revenue and lists Free to Play games by default, so they often appear among the top selling games on Steam.
How do I run a discount on in-game purchases?
There is no discount setting for in-game purchases. Prices live on your own backend, so you lower the price there and show it to players as a discount in the game.
Can I switch my paid game to Free to Play?
Yes. Ask Valve through the support form, and give your customers at least one week's notice before the change.