Steam Playtest: how it works for developers
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
Steam Playtest is a free, separate "child" app attached to your game, with a signup button on your main store page instead of its own page. Players request access; you let them in in random batches as you have capacity, optionally by country, or open signups so everyone gets in. It does not touch wishlists, playtesters cannot review your real game on the strength of it, it is not confidential, and you cannot charge for it. End it by disabling signups and setting it to Not Playable.
An open beta with a gate you control
Before Steam Playtest, developers ran open betas as fake demos or handed out keys by hand. Playtest gives every game a sign-up list on its own store page and a tap you open as wide as your servers and your bug tracker can take.
How it works
- A child app of your game, with the same Steamworks features but no store page of its own.
- Signups on your store page, turned on in Edit Store Page, Special Settings.
- Limited signups (the default): players request access; you add random batches from the pool, optionally by country.
- Open signups: everyone who requests access gets in automatically.
- Friend invites: 1 to 3 per player, for friends of at least 30 days.
- Review: only capsules and icons are checked for its release.
What it is not
- Not confidential: players are under no NDA. For a secret test, use your own NDA with keys and a hidden page.
- Not a sales channel: free for players and developers; access cannot be sold.
- Not a review path: a player who only played the Playtest cannot review the real game.
- Not a wishlist: joining or leaving does not change a player's wishlist.
Ending it
Disable signups on the store page, then set the Playtest to Not Playable. Steam stops launching it; keys already granted are not revoked. A reset, which removes every participant, is irreversible.
Where Flockbay fits
Before a public Steam Playtest, Flockbay's playtest links put a build in front of testers you choose: they install the free Flockbay Playtest app, play the build sandboxed, and their crashes, errors, frame times and bug reports come back to your game's chat, where the AI can replay their input and fix it. Playtest links are free in beta until 1 December 2026.
Questions
- Is Steam Playtest free?
- Yes, for players and developers. You cannot charge for access.
- Does Steam Playtest count towards wishlists or reviews?
- No. It does not change wishlists, and a player who only played the Playtest cannot review the main game.