Steam for Mac

Quick summary

Steam, developed by Valve, is a digital distribution platform for video games that lets you purchase and download new releases and hundreds of thousands of other titles. It’s widely used by developers and publishers and provides a desktop application (as well as a web storefront) that manages purchases, installations, updates and community features for both PC and Mac.

Main advantages

• Regular sales and promotions that can reduce prices by large percentages, making it easy to find bargains.
• A vast catalog that includes major blockbusters, smaller indie releases and free-to-play titles, often with demos and detailed descriptions.
• Built-in community features — forums, friend lists and group systems — that help you find co-op partners and discuss games.
• Automatic updates for installed games, so patches are applied without manual searching.
• A centralized library view with tools for organizing titles (for example, Recently Played and Favorites).

Noted limitations

• The desktop client’s interface is beginning to feel dated, and some users find navigation less intuitive than modern storefronts.
• Store pages in the client can load slowly and you cannot open multiple store pages in separate tabs, which hampers multitasking.
• Browsing newly released games can be cumbersome as the catalog grows rapidly and filtering options are limited.
• Many recent titles require Steam activation to run, which restricts how games can be shared with friends.
• Some aspects of the client consume notable system resources compared with slimmer alternatives.

How it works and getting started

To use Steam, create a free account and install the desktop client. The account setup is straightforward and only takes a few minutes. Once you buy or download a game, the client installs it on your computer and places it in your library for easy access. From there you can launch, update and manage your games. Social features let you chat with friends, join groups and post on forums directly from the client.

Alternatives and related topics

Top suggested alternative

• Epic Games Store — free client with its own catalog and frequent free-game promotions.

Further reading

• Reduced resource consumption
• Listen to your music while playing
• Simplified interface
• Changes