Valve announces Steam smartphone app

News iPhone iPad Android

Chat with friends, view screenshots, keep tabs on sales.

A Steam smartphone app has just entered closed beta, Valve has announced.

Available for both iOS and Android, it lets you chat with friends, view screenshots, browse community groups, read the Steam news feed and keep on top of Steam sales.

If you want in on the beta, just download the app now and log in to your account. Valve will be adding more gamers to the trial as the service ramps up.

"The Steam app comes from many direct requests from our customers," commented Valve boss Gabe Newell.

"Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale - these are all features customers have requested.

"Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam to make it richer and more accessible for everyone."

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

Comments (54) Latest comment 4 weeks ago

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uninspiredcup #1 4 weeks ago

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Phones should only be for talking.
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Pinky_Floyd #2 4 weeks ago

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Good to see the Valve developers gainfully employed instead of working hard on Episode 3.

Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 19:58
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Sharzam #3 4 weeks ago

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YAY been after an android app ever since, well since android was created.
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Timotei #4 4 weeks ago

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Sounds fairly pointless, tbh.
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hiddenranbir #5 4 weeks ago

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lol keep on top of sales....

Seems like you have to force yourself to find this useful.
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Subject91 #6 4 weeks ago

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Be nice to see some steam games come to phones but this will do for now =) nice job valve
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Miths #7 4 weeks ago

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@uninspiredcup That's how I used to feel as well. Then I finally bought a smartphone last year (Samsung Galaxy S2) and quickly learned how useful it can be to carry a computer around in your pocket.
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SwedBear #8 4 weeks ago

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Wouldn't this be the perfekt first step for proper Steam on a phone, at least for Android which supports separate appstores?

I definitely could see them start offering games etc. directly from the app and at the same time tie it into the whole steam-network with chat, leaderboards etc.
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siegarettes #9 4 weeks ago

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I've actually been wanting something like this. Now if they added a mobile games portal to it... well that would be my wallet disappearing.
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alexbulluk #10 4 weeks ago

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Aww, no iPad version
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cw- #11 4 weeks ago

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Awesome, I asked Steam for this at Christmas and here it is!
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Eraysor #12 4 weeks ago

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Doesn't work on pre-3GS models...I am disappoint.
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Nephirion #13 4 weeks ago

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iSteam?
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arcam #14 4 weeks ago

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/no idea what I'd use it for

/installing it anyway
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Golgo #15 4 weeks ago

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I have no Steam friends at all so I'm quite angry about this App which clearly is a waste of everybody's time. I'm going to email Gabe. Given his desire to pander to every customer on every trivial point this will probably result in an explosion.
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munki83 #16 4 weeks ago

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Just awesome....how about hl3 soon
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infernox1 #17 4 weeks ago

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@hiddenranbir IDK, I think talking to steam friends around the world is pretty useful. Obviously there are better alternatives for talking to friends but, for me at least, I know people on steam I don't have elsewhere.
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Nismo400R84 #18 4 weeks ago

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wp7 app ????
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cheeky-sod #19 4 weeks ago

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good idea, but i rarely use steam anymore ;(
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Gastrian #20 4 weeks ago

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only gripe is its not for WP7 but that may change.

As long as the app is free I don't see any reason why not to get it. The average person will spend most of their day either sleeping or working and when tye aren't they aren't always at their PC. I've missed quite a few of the holiday Steam sales because for one reason another I haven't had access to Steam.

This will be an added conveiniennce for most, much like having Amazon and eBay apps on their phones.
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Vistrix #21 4 weeks ago

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"If you want in on the beta, just download the app now and log in to your account."

Uh this isn't true. Might be worth mentioning that you need an invite... after downloading the app and logging in, it says your account isn't part of the beta.
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gjgjg #22 4 weeks ago

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theres a home brew steam app thats been on the android market for a while now, but the prices and deals were for the US store only.
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stee1gargoyle #23 4 weeks ago

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I still go on Steam most nights, but not so much that I'm gonna check the app to see the status of sales.
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arcam #24 4 weeks ago

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@Vistrix Yep, won't work for me either. Not in the beta.
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Katsumoto #25 4 weeks ago

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It think the point is that you have to download the app and log in so as to register your interest for an eventual place on the beta.

This app is very appealing to me just for the chat: I'm not on my pc anywhere near as much as my iPad these days so I'm often missing out on the rare moments when a few of us are online at the same time and available for a quick game of Left 4 Dead or whatever.
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cw- #26 4 weeks ago

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What I want to see happen with this Steam app, is for it to be integrated into mobile apps and act like an Open Feint (or XBox LIVE).

I'd love to be linking my game apps to my Steam account and have all the achievements in one place .. and , I'm a Steam lover!
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Whizzo #27 4 weeks ago

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Steam will now be closer to the wallet it extracts vast amounts of cash from every time there's a sale on.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not!
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Lunatic4ever #28 4 weeks ago

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Absolutely uninteresting for me.
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Subquest #29 4 weeks ago

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without games it's a bit pointless really, browsing to their website will give much the same. just get on with the Big Picture mode you talked about a year ago.
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kingmancheng #30 4 weeks ago

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Mobile games via Steam too in future? :>
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TheGuvernor #31 4 weeks ago

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Looks like the HL3 smart phone version will be here 1st.
Sometime next decade.
Perhaps.
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Qassim #32 4 weeks ago

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@Subquest Because there isn't a rather large thing called Steam community, right? There aren't people who use steam chat, right?
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mrpon #33 4 weeks ago

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Please tell me you can buy games via the app?
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SteelPriest #34 4 weeks ago

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now just add games!
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Caimbeul #35 4 weeks ago

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Yes Valve, the shitty mobile market is now where you want to focus your time instead focussing on quality like Episode 3.

Half Life forever? Given that they have taken so damn long now they will need a whole new graphics engine too as although source engine is pretty, it is not capable of competing against current engines.
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Toothball #36 4 weeks ago

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@Caimbeul

Yes, it must have taken the entirety of Valve's creative and technical resources to produce this App. All game development there has stopped until this project is complete.

Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 07:51
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BartsBlue #37 4 weeks ago

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Valve, Windows Phone 7 version, plz, kthxbai.
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Ryboy #38 4 weeks ago

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@Caimbeul - http://dear-esther.com/
Now fuck off back to your hole.

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Lukree #39 4 weeks ago

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@siegarettes I am pretty certain that mobile games are the long term plan here.

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hiddenranbir #40 4 weeks ago

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@infernox1 Thing is, I have those friends on other platforms too...and the only relevant time to talk to them on Steam would be if I was actually on Steam, ready to play a game!

Steam sales aren't in that much flux that they need to be checked 'on the go'. They last for days, and you're going to be at your computer where you actually play with Steam at some point. :\

Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 09:38

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MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #41 4 weeks ago

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About god damned time.

Edit: "Account not in Beta"? What shite is this?

Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 09:50

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MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #42 4 weeks ago

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although source engine is pretty, it is not capable of competing against current engines.

And yet Eurogamer's Game of the Year 2011 was created with it.

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Toothball #43 4 weeks ago

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@MENTAL1ST

It sounded like seeing that message meant you had registered your interest. I'm not so hopeful after two failed attempts to see what the DOTA2 Beta was all about.

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Kalak #44 4 weeks ago

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@MENTAL1ST You have to set this option on your STEAM Client.

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StooMonster #45 4 weeks ago

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@Caimbeul although source engine is pretty, it is not capable of competing against current engines

What measure are you using for this competition to come to such a conclusion?

It's widely publicised what's Valve's measure is for their Source Engine: scales well across broadest possible range of hardware.

(Valve have the best data on the actual hardware used for gaming in the market via their hardware surveys.)

This approach gives them the largest possible market for their games.

So, Source engine is competing in financial terms. What other terms are there that matter?

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bad09 #46 4 weeks ago

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More interested in the big picture mode, when's that coming Gabe?

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Leolian #47 4 weeks ago

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There goes the last dribble of my disposable income

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lolercopter #48 4 weeks ago

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It doesn't work on my second generation Ipod Touch. The same happened with the Xbox Live application. I can't see how both are so technologically demanding that my device can't run them. Disappointing.

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elfez #49 4 weeks ago

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If you want to keep track of Steam sales you can do worse than use this rss feed: http://f eeds.feedburner.com/SteamGameSalesUK

And I do wish Valve would open the Steam chat protocol so I wouldn't have to use yet another IM app. Already have too many of those as it is.

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StooMonster #50 4 weeks ago

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@bad09 big picture mode

Oh yes, me too. How long ago was that announced?

Been doing a lot of PC gaming since plugging it into 1080p television for the purpose.

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Gastrian #51 4 weeks ago

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@elfez Cheers, never knew it existed.

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Toothball #52 4 weeks ago

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@lolercopter

They probably only tested it on newer models, thinking that's where most people would use them.

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lolercopter #53 4 weeks ago

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@Toothball My guess is the application only supports newer versions of iOS. 2G Touches stopped getting updates after 4.2.1. I can't see how they couldn't target iOS 3.x for something like this. It's not like it's running Unreal Engine.

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Rusty_M #54 4 weeks ago

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What took them so long?

Actually, that's valve's trademark, isn't it? Taking ages and being generally pretty good.

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