Valve just single-handedly upgraded content creation for PC gamers – Steam’s Game Recording feature is now available to all
Game Recording exits beta to full release
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The recentSteam Families updateproved beneficial for many PC gamers, and Valve has taken another step in the right direction withSteam’s Game Recording functionality exiting beta, and now being available to all users.
This fresh innovationallows Steam gamersto have their gameplay recorded automatically with titles that support the platform’s overlay feature. AsVideoCardzreports, when set to ‘Background Recording’ mode, it will capture the last 120 minutes of gameplay (temporarily, in case you need it). Or alternatively you can initiate a manual ‘On Demand Recording’ and start, then stop, the recording yourself.
Game Recording also allows game developers to hook up with the official API, so devs can implement the ability to add markers for specific events in a recording (like when a boss battle happens, for example) to help you better navigate the recorded footage and find what you want.
This could be a game-changer (literally) for many content creators, with the convenience of running both a game and the recording feature seamlessly together on Steam.
That said, it’s important to note that running Game Recording could meaningfully impact in-game performance (especially on handheld gaming PCs or weaker desktop configurations), but there are options for both lower quality recordings which could help soften any potential performance drops.
Game Recording will use the video encoding chops of yourAMDorNvidiaGPU, if you have one, or rely on the CPU if your PC lacks graphics capabilities. In the latter case, that’s likely to cause more in the way of performance hiccups, as you might imagine.
An eventual dream team of Steam streaming integration?
While Steam’s Game Recording is a notable enhancement for all users on the platform, Valve is yet to implement any streaming capabilities.OBS Studioand StreamLabs both feature manual recordings and streaming, which are ideal for social platforms likeYouTubeand Twitch.
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Fortunately, Game Recording on Steam has different bitrates to choose from within its video settings (and also low and high presets) - if you were only using the aforementioned streaming platforms for manual recording, you can make the move to Steam without much worry. More broadly, this is a significant move in allowing thehuge number of PC gamers using Steamto get easy access to game recording right there, directly within Valve’s platform, without having to install anything else.
If Valve can integrate streaming services on Steam and possibly improve streaming directly to friends, we could very well be looking at new competition in this particular facet of the gaming arena (up against Discord too).
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Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at TechRadar. He’s spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off atGameRantin 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing atPC Guidewhich included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren’t a complete mess.
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