Steam

Steam is Valve's digital distribution platform for PC gaming and the dominant storefront for purchasing and playing games on personal computers. The platform has become central to PC gaming culture, hosting a vast library of games and millions of players worldwide. Valve regularly publishes the Steam Hardware Survey, which tracks gaming ecosystem trends and influences hardware and game development decisions across the industry. Recently, Steam has faced mounting challenges including increased competition from rival launchers like Epic Games' redesigned Launcher V2. Additionally, Valve discontinued its physical Steam gift card program after sustained exploitation by scammers who leveraged the cards for fraud schemes. Despite these pressures, Steam remains the primary distribution channel for PC gaming.