A new beta update for Steam adds a robust and useful gameplay recording tool to the popular PC launcher, allowing you to easily capture great moments or terrible mistakes on the desktop and Steam deck.
When Steam first came onto the market in 2003, it was simply a way to update some Valve games like Half-life 2 and purchase digital titles. But now, 20 years later, Steam has grown into a major platform that includes forums, mods, DLC, streaming, and the ability to share guides and screenshots with other gamers. And you can now add gameplay recordings to the long list of things Steam can do.
Announced on June 26, Steam Game Recording is a new suite of tools and features that allow gamers to easily record gameplay in any game, even non-Steam games. As long as Steam is open and the overlay is working, you can record gameplay footage from any game.
Before you play around with all the cool new recording and editing tools, You must sign up for the Steam Beta branch. Just go to the Steam menu, go to Settings, then UI, and select one of the beta options there. Steam will then restart and, boom, you can record yourself dying 200 times Fire ring boss.
Everything you can do with Steam’s new video recording tool
Valve has launched the new Game Recording tool (still in beta) with a number of useful options. You can always have Steam record in the background as you play, and also limit the amount of space these recordings can take up before Valve starts overwriting the recorded footage. Valve suggests that this will allow you to go back and – using the basic editing tools included with Steam – cut out a cool moment, or even go back and look at what an NPC said about a side quest. You can also set up Game Recording to record clips manually.
Some games – currently only DOTA 2 and Counterstrike 2– you can also add custom markers to your game’s timeline, making it easy to cut together montages of headshots or victories.
Even better, you and your recordings aren’t trapped in Steam. Valve allows you to easily export any clip or recording as a raw .mp4 file that you can edit and manipulate using third-party software. You can even share clips with other Steam users via chat or QR code. You can also send clips recorded on your Steam Deck to your PC for easy editing later. And yes, all of this works on Steam Deck, making the handheld PC even more useful.
This is just another example of how Valve has made Steam the best PC store launcher on the market by a wide margin. While I want games to appear on more platforms and PC stores, I understand why so many people prefer Valve software. It’s free, easy to use, and constantly improving.
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