Create an account, download and install Steam to play

There are many users who use their computer to play their favorite video games. Currently, there is a wide variety of platforms where you can buy digital games at competitive prices, leaving the physical format more and more aside. Well, even if we buy it physically, it is not necessary to insert the DVD for its installation. Of all the platforms, Steam is, without a doubt, the most popular and used for years.

And it is that, not many years ago, and almost without realizing it, we have gone from having our games on a shelf to storing them in a cloud. But if we have just taken the step to play with our PC, it is possible that we do not know exactly what Steam is, or how to create an account or what to do to download and install it, so today we are going to talk about all of it.

What is Steam

For those who do not know it, Steam is the largest online gaming platform that we can find on the Internet. Developed by Valve Corporation and launched in 2003, it is a benchmark in the video game industry where you can find practically any game you want and, in many cases, at a lower price than other stores.

The platform allows users to be able to install PC games online directly from their cloud immediately after their purchase. We can also publish reviews, upload content created by ourselves, buy DLC, etc. Everything we buy in the store will be linked to our account and we can access all of it whenever we want as long as we have it downloaded and installed on our computer. This whole process is very simple and is capable of giving us total control over the downloads.

Its interface is easy to use and allows us to search for all kinds of games , from Action and Adventure to Indie or third-person shooter games. We also have the ability to give away or trade collectibles within the community, as well as upload our own creations, including artwork, videos, screenshots, guides, and downloadable content for others to enjoy as well.

Requirements to create an account

Before being able to open a Steam account and create our profile, it will be necessary to know that we must meet a series of requirements imposed by the platform. These are minimal and easy to comply with, but it is equally important to know them. Likewise, we must also know the technical requirements that our computer must meet in order to correctly execute your client.

The requirements to obtain our Steam account are :

Have a valid and working email address.
Be over 13 years old.
Accept the conditions of use during the registration process.

All those people who do not meet these requirements will not be able to create their account and have access to all the offer and catalog of games on the platform.

In addition, for the Steam client to work correctly on our Windows computer, it is essential that it meets certain minimum hardware requirements . If our computer is more or less current, it must amply comply with them, however, it should be taken into account if we plan to use it on an old computer that we have dedicated to it.

The requirements that our computer must meet are :

Operating system: at least Windows XP, Vista or 7.
Minimum 512 MB of RAM.
1 GHz processor or higher.
1 GB of storage drive space (recommended).
Internet connection (broadband recommended).
Mouse (recommended).

In addition, although we comply with all the features, we must also take into account that when creating a new account, we will have some limitations related to social and community features, such as adding friends. This is done to prevent spam, identity theft, and other abuse by new users.

Limited users are prevented from accessing various Steam features, including but not limited to:

Send friend requests and group invitations.
Request access to groups.
Open group chats.
Vote on Steam reviews and Steam Workshop items.
Participate in the Steam Community Market.
Trade Steam Community items (cards, booster packs, gems, etc.).
Make your Steam profile visible to non-friends.
Frequently post messages in Steam discussions.
Get cards or new levels (they will be locked at level 0) in the Steam profile.
Submit content to the Steam Workshop.
Post messages to Steam Workshop discussions about an item.
Create public Steam guides.
Access the Steam Web API.
Use browser and mobile chat.
Add screenshots and public artwork.
Add messages to exchange offers.
Create Steam groups.
Count as members of a group.
Follow or add mentors.
Post hyperlinks to the Steam Community.

In order to unlock these functions, it will be necessary to make a minimum purchase in its catalog for a value of 5 euros , not being necessary for it to be in a single purchase, but only until we spend that amount can we access the rest of the community’s functions and take advantage of to the fullest of its entire ecosystem.

Steps to open a free account

To start using Steam, it is essential that we first create an account that, contrary to what many may think, is completely free, so we do not have to pay to have our account open and use the platform. To do this, it will be necessary to access the platform’s website . In addition, it is also possible to create our account through the client available for download.

Enter a valid email account

Once we are on the Steam home page, click on the Login button that we find in the upper right.

Now, the login page appears, in which we must click on the Join Steam button that we find on the right side of the screen.

This will take us to a new screen from where to create our account. To do this we must enter the email that we want to link in the first section and in the second to confirm, as well as the country of residence. We must also check the “I am not a robot” button of recaptcha.

At the bottom check the box for “I am 13 years of age or older and agree to the terms of the Steam Subscriber Agreement and Valve’s Privacy Policy.”

Finally, click on the “Continue” button.

Confirm the email and create the account

Now Steam is going to send us a confirmation email, so that it can confirm that the one we have entered is correct and that it also belongs to us.

When entering our mail we will see an email with the subject “New Steam account email verification”. We open it and click on the Verify my email address button. Once this is done, a confirmation window will appear informing us that the email has been verified. Once this is done, the Steam developers are already sure that we are the owners of the account and they will allow us to continue with the registration process.

That is why we can now create our account. To do this, we must enter the name of the Steam account, choose a password (of at least 8 characters) and confirm it. You have to show special interest in creating a password that is as secure as possible. In fact, on the page they will show us with a green, yellow or red bar if the key that we are entering is more or less secure. Finally, we press the Done button.

And this is it, we already have our account created with our Steam profile open. From now on we can log in with our username and password on their website whenever we want, as well as view their catalog and buy games.

How to download and install the Steam client

Once we have our Steam account, we must download and install its client on our computer, something that will be essential to be able to play the games that we have on the platform. In addition, the client has many features, such as the option to automatically update our games, have access to a list of friends, voice chat in the game and the ability to share games between our friends.

To do this, from the main Steam page we must click on the Install Steam button that is located in the upper right.

This will take us to a new screen, where you can click on the Install Steam button to start downloading the installation file.

Once downloaded, we will obtain the SteamSetup.exe file, which we must execute, making sure we have administrator permissions. We start the installation process and choose the language .

Later we must confirm the installation path , and it will also inform us of both the space we have available on our hard drive and the space required by the application. Finally, click on the Install button.

Once finished we can run Steam. The first time we start it, it may update to the latest version available, so it may take a few minutes.

Steam login process

Once the Steam client is installed, it is time to log in to use it. To do this, just double-click on its direct access and an entry window will appear. Once in it, we only have to add our account data, such as our username and password. Once written, click on the Login button. Once we have done this last step, we will enter Steam and now we can start buying and playing the best PC games.

We can also log in from your website . Next, we go to the upper right and click on the Login option. This will take us to another page where we must enter the name of our account and the password to access. We write it in their corresponding fields and click on Start session.

Configure double authentication

The application has a two-factor authentication security system, called Steam Guard, which is highly recommended to have enabled. When activated, when we go to log in with the username and password, it will ask us for a 4-character code that will be sent to us by mail or that we will receive on our smartphone through the Steam app.

To activate this security measure, what we must do is enter the configuration section of our account, from this link , and go to the “Account security” section. From here we will be able to see the status of the Steam Guard, and activate it in case we don’t already have it, by clicking on the Manage Steam Guard option.