SteamAPI in Unreal Engine

If you're shipping a UE5 game on Steam, the work is mostly already done for you — but the documentation is scattered. Here's the shortest path from a fresh UE project to a working Steam overlay.

1. Get the app ID

Register your game on partner.steamgames.com and grab the AppID. You can use 480 ("Spacewar") for local testing.

2. Enable OnlineSubsystemSteam

In DefaultEngine.ini:

[/Script/Engine.GameEngine]
+NetDriverDefinitions=(DefName="GameNetDriver",DriverClassName="OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver",DriverClassNameFallback="OnlineSubsystemUtils.IpNetDriver")
 
[OnlineSubsystem]
DefaultPlatformService=Steam
 
[OnlineSubsystemSteam]
bEnabled=true
SteamDevAppId=480
bRelaunchInSteam=false

3. Ship steam_appid.txt for dev

For dev builds, drop a steam_appid.txt next to your executable containing just the AppID on line 1. Remove this for shipping builds.

4. Test the overlay

Press Shift+Tab in PIE. If the Steam overlay appears, you're in. If not, check the log for "Steamworks" entries.