WHY SHOULD I CREATE ITEMS FOR THE POINTS SHOP?The Steam Points Shop represents a new way for fans to show off art from your game in their profile, friends list, and chat. Points Shop items come from partners like you, and are a great way to increase the visibility of your game. So far, millions of players have exchanged Steam Points for these animated, game-themed collectibles.
HOW CAN I CREATE ITEMS FOR THE POINTS SHOP?Download the templates below, follow the specifications when creating, and submit the asset(s) via your game's app page!
To get acquainted with (and inspired by) animated items other games have created,
visit the Points Shop!To get started,
download the templates here, then upload to your game's Community Item Admin page. If you create Points Shop items for multiple games with your account, submit each to the corresponding game's page, the format for which is below:
partner.steamgames.com/apps/communityitems/*YOUR_APP_NUMBER_HERE*/SPECIFICATIONS
The animated item types available through the Points Shop are as follows, in order of popularity:
Animated Avatar Frames
Visible anywhere your Steam profile avatar is seen. Create 1-4 of these, ideally. All assets should be looping, and under 2MB.
- 224 x 224px APNG (animated .png) <2MB
- 224 x 224px .png (still)
(Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)Animated Avatars
Visible anywhere your Steam profile avatar is seen. Create 1-4 of these, ideally. All assets should be looping.
- 184 x 184px .gif <2MB
- 184 x 184px .jpg (still) <300kb
(Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)Animated Profile Backgrounds
Visible in your Steam profile. Create 1-4 of these, ideally. Should be a looping .mp4 and .webm under 4MB. The files should have a fade to black baked into the bottom of them for a smooth transition to black on the profile bottom. The sides of profiles can now be full-screen, so the right and left sides can be full-bleed. Refer to the template (downloadable above) for the area in the middle occluded by the profile.
- 300 x 168px .webm <1MB (for preview purposes)
- 300 x 168px .mp4 <1MB (for preview purposes)
- 1920 x 1080px .jpg (still) < 350 kb
- 1920 x 1080px .mp4 <4MB
- 1920 x 1080px .webm <4MB
(Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)Animated Mini-profile Backgrounds
Visible on hover in the friends list and across the Steam Community. Should be a looping and under 4MB.
- 640 x 570px .jpg (still) <350kb
- 640 x 570px .mp4 <4MB
- 640 x 570px .webm <4MB
(Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)Animated Stickers
Can be displayed in chat and in Steam profile item showcases. Stickers should be a looping APNG (plus one still frame PNG), clearly expressing some emotion or idea (without words) at 150x150px (under 300KB), with alpha transparency in each frame. Create 2-6 of these, ideally. (Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)
Sticker sets have been designed and animated in the past by the following animators (feel free to reach out to them for their availability and interest!):
Game Profiles
A Game Profile is a bundle of profile items that are themed together. It includes a new unique animated avatar, avatar frame, animated mini-profile background and an animated profile background. In addition to these assets, you will also need to customize the theme of the profile by entering 5 RGBA colors that make up different sections of the profile. These colors should compliment your art, but must not interfere with the legibility of the profile itself. Game profiles are great to theme around updates or new DLCs and you can have multiple per game. If you are coordinating your Game Profile with a Steam event, you can optionally prevent the item from appearing on the Point Shop until the event has started using the "Available From" time field on the item.
(Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)Game Profile Logo
Displayed to users from their inventory, when they go to select the Game Profile to equip and from the Points Shop. This asset is a logo that summarizes the entire Game Profile Bundle. It should feature your game's identifying logo art, but does not need to include the text of your game's name.
- 96 x 96px .jpg (still) < 350 kb
- 512 x 512px .jpg (still) < 350 kb
Steam Deck & Big Picture Startup Movies
Startup Movies are short videos that play when Steam Deck starts or (optionally) wakes from sleep. Startup movies also play in Big Picture mode on desktop. They contain both sound and video.
(Click here to see examples live in the Points Shop.)
Video Guidelines
Startup movies need to be 1920x1200px in size for fullscreen display on Steam Deck. They should be made with consideration for the fact that they will be cropped to 1920x1080px on most displays in Big Picture mode.
- They should be between 3-10 seconds in length.
- May include your game's logo but no other text or marketing material is permitted.
- Incorporating the Steam Deck logo shape into your video is not required but is certainly permitted and encouraged (the more creative the better!).
- Final file needs to be in .webm and .mp4 format and no larger than 5mb.
Audio Guidelines
All startup movies contain audio as well as video. Audio should be designed to complement the small Steam Deck speakers output and not too loud that it overwhelms the user on startup.
- Audio files should be in a 16-bit 48kHz format.
- Final output should be -12 dB peak and -14 LUFS average volume.
- Avoid too many mid-low frequencies and consider a HPF starting around 40-80Hz.
- Consider adding fades at the start and finish of the audio file to avoid any click or hard cut at the end of the startup video.
Asset Checklist
- 1920 x 1200px .webm (full-size movie / with sound) < 5mb
- 1920 x 1200px .mp4 (full size movie / with sound) < 5mb
- 320 x 220px .webm (small preview movie / no sound) < 1mb
- 320 x 220px .mp4 (small preview movie for iOS / no sound) < 1mb
- 320 x 200px .png (still) < 350kb
Download the templates herePlease remember that, under the Steam Distribution Agreement, all marketing materials you provide need to be non-infringing. So be sure to clear any necessary rights for Valve to display and distribute the startup movies via Steam.
FAQ
Rules and Guidelines
To ensure your Points Shop items are approved, here are some potential pitfalls to avoid:
- Do not use screenshots or images not tailored to the space.
- Do not include game logos in the backgrounds.
- Do not use footage that strobes or flashes (for epilepsy accessibility).
- Use dark imagery that blends into black.
- Use the full image space, images behind the profile content may be toned down, but should not be removed.
- Assets must be all-ages appropriate, as they are not age-gated. Regardless of what is included in-game, assets should not include nudity or adult content, or realistic gore. Valve will provide feedback on potentially inappropriate content.
Adult Content
Points Shop assets must be globally all-ages appropriate, as they are not age-gated. Regardless of what is included in-game, assets should not include adult content or realistic gore. Adult content includes:
- Partial or full nudity
- Sexually suggestive situations
- Young-looking characters in risqué outfits or situations
- Upskirt or upshirt imagery
- Imagery where the central focus is sexually suggestive (ex: an image of a bra or panties).
Valve will provide feedback on potentially inappropriate content.
Review process
Once all your assets are uploaded, click the edit link beneath “Release State” to mark your assets as ready for review. Once set as ready for review, your art assets will automatically appear in our queue to review by Valve. This process typically takes 2-3 days and any necessary feedback will be provided to you via the tool.
Releasing Points Shop Items
After your assets are approved, you'll see the status update on your Steamworks home page. You’ll then be able to set the release state to “Released” and publish the items.
NOTE: Once the assets are published changes are only permitted for errors.
Can I control when my items will go live on the Point Shop?
Yes, you can set the time available field on any point shop item to control when it will appear in the shop. This date/time is in UTC. You can use this option to coordinate your item's release with an event or game update. This gives you the freedom to publish the items at any time and they will become visible automatically at the time entered. Note that this time field cannot be changed once you publish your approved items.
Helpful Links
For templates and visual specs please refer to the Community Items under the Community tab page for your Steamworks app admin page. From an app page select "Edit Steamworks Settings" under the Technical Tools section, then under the "Community" tab select "Community Items (e.g. Trading Cards)". You'll find the relevant information here.
[/section]