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Steam Publishing Tool

The Steam Publishing Tool is an editor-only workflow for packaging and uploading Unreal Engine builds to Steam through SteamCMD.

It is included with PloxTools: Steam Integration and can be opened directly from the Unreal Editor toolbar using the Steam Publishing Tool button.

The tool is separate from the runtime Steam API features. It does not affect achievements, stats, leaderboards, cloud saves, friends, lobbies, overlays, or any other Steamworks features used by your game at runtime.

Overview

The Steam Publishing Tool helps you prepare and upload Steam builds directly from the Unreal Editor.

It can:

  • Install SteamCMD if it is missing.
  • Authorize a Steam account for SteamCMD usage.
  • Validate publishing settings before upload.
  • Package the current Unreal project and upload the packaged build.
  • Upload an already packaged build folder.
  • Generate SteamPipe VDF files.
  • Run SteamCMD with the generated SteamPipe configuration.
  • Show operation progress, result details, generated file paths, and logs.

The tool is intended to make the Steam upload process easier, but it does not replace the Steamworks dashboard. Your Steam application, depots, branches, permissions, packages, and release settings must still be configured in Steamworks.

How to Use This Section

If you are using the Steam Publishing Tool for the first time, start with Setup.

After the dashboard shows that SteamCMD, Steam Account, and Publishing Settings are ready, follow Publishing a Build to upload a build.

Use the other pages as reference when needed:

  • Settings explains every publishing setting.
  • Logs and Generated Files explains where SteamCMD, generated SteamPipe files, packaged output, and logs are stored.
  • Troubleshooting covers common setup, authorization, packaging, and upload issues.

Publishing Workflows

The tool supports two publishing workflows:

Workflow Description
Package Project and Upload Packages the current Unreal project first, then uploads the packaged build to Steam.
Upload Existing Build Folder Uploads an already packaged build folder without running Unreal packaging.

Use Package Project and Upload when you want the tool to handle both packaging and uploading.

Use Upload Existing Build Folder when you already have a packaged build and only want to upload it through SteamCMD.

Requirements

Before publishing a build, make sure that:

  • The plugin is enabled in your Unreal project.
  • The project has a valid Steam App ID.
  • The Steamworks app has at least one configured depot.
  • Your Steam account has permission to upload builds for the selected app and depot.
  • SteamCMD can connect to Steam services.

For Package Project and Upload, the project must also package successfully from Unreal Engine.

For this workflow, the tool packages the project for the current editor host platform: Windows builds are packaged as Win64, and macOS builds are packaged as Mac.

If the project cannot be packaged normally from Unreal Engine, the Package Project and Upload workflow will fail before the Steam upload starts. Fix packaging issues first, then run the publishing workflow again.