How to Write a Steam Description That Converts

Most indie devs spend weeks on their trailer and hours on their capsule art, then write their Steam description in 20 minutes the night before they publish. Like a text adventure nobody playtested. You can feel it when you read those pages. Vague adjectives, backstory dumps, walls of text nobody will scan. The description is where warm leads go to die, or where they convert.

TL;DR: Short description (~300 chars): hook + genre + unique mechanic. Long description: lead with a GIF, one-paragraph pitch, feature sections with bold headers, 3-4 more GIFs throughout. No external links. Localize into top target languages. Your Steam copy should match your press kit copy.

Key Takeaways

Name your genre in the first 10 words of the short description. Players scan for genre keywords.
Lead with what you DO, not what the world IS. Actions hook; settings don't.
Embedded GIFs in your long description outperform text alone. 3-4 GIFs spread through sections.
Paragraphs should be 1-3 sentences max. Players scan, they don't read.
August 2024 rules: no external links, no fake Steam UI, no cross-promotion widgets.

Your Steam description has two parts: the short description (~300 characters, visible in search results and list views) and the long description (the "About This Game" section on your store page). Both are covered in our Steam Page Optimization guide. This article goes deeper on the craft of writing both, with formulas, real examples, formatting strategy, and guidance on how your store copy connects to your press kit materials.

The Short Description: 300 Characters of Pure Function

The short description shows up everywhere your game appears in a compressed format. Search results. Tag pages. Category browse views. Recommendation widgets. It's the text snippet next to your Small Capsule. At 300 characters, you don't have room for elegance. You need precision.

300 character slots displayed like a pixel art canvas

The Formula

Hook + Genre + Unique Mechanic. Three components, roughly one sentence each (or compressed into one tight paragraph).

Look at how successful games handle this:

Balatro: "The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger satisfying combos."

Three-word hook ("The poker roguelike"). Genre named (deckbuilder). Unique twist spelled out (illegal poker hands, jokers, combos). Anyone reading this in a search result knows exactly what they'd be buying. Developers who test their short descriptions with real players consistently find that genre clarity in the first ten words dramatically affects click-through rates.

Celeste: "Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight, hand-crafted platformer from the creators of TowerFall."

Character and goal (Madeline, climb a mountain). Genre (platformer). Differentiator (super-tight, hand-crafted, TowerFall pedigree).

Vampire Survivors: "Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements."

Action hook (mow down thousands). Genre mash-up (gothic horror casual, rogue-lite). The verb "mow down" tells you everything about the power fantasy.

What Makes These Work

Each one names the genre in the first 10 words. Players filtering through dozens of search results scan for genre keywords. If they can't find yours in half a second, they skip. "Roguelike," "deckbuilder," "platformer," "survival" are the words people's eyes lock onto.

Each one describes what you DO, not what the world IS. "Play illegal poker hands" is an action. "A mysterious world full of secrets" is a setting. Actions hook. Settings don't.

Each one skips the studio name. Your developer name already appears on the page. Don't waste characters repeating it.

Short Description Mistakes That Kill Conversions

The backstory dump. "In the year 2347, after the Great Collapse shattered the seven kingdoms, a lone warrior emerges from the Ashlands to..." Nobody reads this in a search result. You're competing with 50 other games on the same page. Lead with what the player does, not what happened before they showed up.

The adjective salad. "An exciting, immersive, breathtaking adventure through a beautiful, mysterious, ever-changing world." Every adjective here is doing zero work. What genre? What do I do? What's the hook? Replace adjectives with specifics.

The feature list. "Features 200+ weapons, 50 levels, 12 boss fights, co-op multiplayer, and full controller support." This belongs in the long description. The short description is a hook, not a spec sheet.

The Long Description: Your Silent Sales Page

The "About This Game" section sits below the trailer and screenshots. Anyone reading it has already scrolled past your capsule, watched a few seconds of your trailer, and scanned your screenshot carousel. These are warm leads. They're interested. Your job is to close.

Structure That Converts

1. Open with a GIF

Seriously. An animated GIF showing 3-5 seconds of your best gameplay, embedded right at the top of the description, grabs attention before anyone reads a word. Steam's description editor supports animated GIFs and WebMs.

Look at how Hollow Knight's store page uses animated clips between text blocks. Each one shows a different aspect of the game. It breaks up the reading and keeps demonstrating the game simultaneously.

Three to four GIFs total in your long description is the sweet spot. Spread them between text sections, each one showing something different: combat, exploration, a progression screen, a "wow" moment. In practice, developers who add well-placed GIFs to their descriptions report that page engagement metrics improve noticeably—visitors spend more time on the page and scroll further.

2. Follow with a one-paragraph pitch

Two to three sentences. This is your short description with room to breathe. Genre, hook, what's different about this game. Think of it as the answer to "what is this?" from someone who's already intrigued.

Don't repeat your short description word for word. Expand on it. Add texture.

3. Feature sections with bold headers

Players scan. They don't read paragraphs. Break your features into scannable chunks using Steam's formatting tools:

Core Mechanics (what do you actually DO?)

Describe the primary gameplay loop in concrete terms
Name specific systems: crafting, combat, building, breeding, whatever

World and Setting (where and when?)

Convey the vibe without drowning in lore
One or two sentences about the aesthetic or tone

Progression Systems (what keeps me coming back?)

Skill trees, unlocks, story progression, procedural generation
Give a sense of depth without spoiling

Multiplayer/Co-op (if applicable)

Player count, online/local, how co-op changes the experience

4. Close with a call to action

Not a "wishlist now" button (you can't fake Steam UI in descriptions anymore). Just a final sentence that reinforces the promise. "Build your colony. Survive the winter. Discover what the mountain is hiding." Something that echoes the hook and leaves the player ready to click.

Formatting Rules That Matter

Use Steam's built-in formatting. Bold headers, bullet lists, horizontal rules. These tools exist in the Steamworks visual editor. Use them. A description with zero formatting is a wall of text that nobody reads.

Paragraph length: 1-3 sentences max. On Steam, text is rendered in a relatively narrow column. Long paragraphs become intimidating blocks. Keep them short. White space is your friend.

Avoid walls of bullet points too. Five to seven bullets per section is comfortable. Fifteen bullets in a row is as bad as a wall of text. Group and chunk.

The August 2024 Description Restrictions

Valve rolled out significant changes to what's allowed in descriptions:

No links to external websites. No "Join our Discord" banners, no social media links, no "follow us on Twitter" buttons. Steam has dedicated fields for social links elsewhere on your page. Use those.
No embedded imagery mimicking Steam UI. Those animated GIFs showing someone clicking the "Add to Wishlist" button? Banned.
No images, links, or widgets pointing to other games. No cross-promotion in descriptions, no iFrame widgets linking to your other titles.

These restrictions actually help you. Your "About This Game" section is now 100% about your game. That focus is better for conversion. For cross-promotion, use franchise pages, bundles, and your developer homepage on Steam.

Writing Copy That Doubles for Your Press Kit

Here's something most devs miss: the description you write for Steam is nearly identical to the description that should appear in your press kit. Journalists pulling info from your presskit.gg page need a clear, scannable summary of what your game is, who it's for, and what makes it different.

If you write a strong Steam short description, you already have your press kit's one-line description. If you write a strong long description with clear feature sections, you already have the bulk of your press kit's "About" page.

The difference is in tone. Steam descriptions talk to players. Press kit descriptions talk to journalists who may cover hundreds of games per month. For the press kit version:

Lead with the genre and unique angle, same as the Steam short description
Include a one-paragraph "elevator pitch" adapted from your long description opener
Add a "Key Features" section pulled directly from your Steam feature list
Include factual details journalists need: release date, price, platforms, player count

For more on aligning your copy across platforms, see our guide on indie game branding.

GIF Strategy: Show, Then Tell

GIFs are the highest-impact element in a Steam long description. They auto-play as the reader scrolls, which means they grab attention even from people who aren't reading the text carefully.

A Steam description section with alternating text and GIF blocks

What to Show in Each GIF

GIF 1 (top of description): Your single best gameplay moment. The thing that makes people say "oh, that looks cool." Core mechanic in action, ideally with visual flair. Particle effects, satisfying combat, a clever building system. Whatever makes your game's loop visually appealing.

GIF 2 (after the pitch paragraph): A different aspect of gameplay. If GIF 1 showed combat, GIF 2 might show exploration or crafting. Demonstrate range.

GIF 3 (in the features section): Something that shows depth. A progression system, a late-game moment, multiplayer chaos. Something that signals "there's more here than you think."

GIF 4 (optional, near the end): Your "wow" moment. The most visually striking thing in your game. A massive boss, a sweeping vista, an elaborate base someone built.

GIF Technical Tips

Keep them short: 3-6 seconds, looping
Crop out or minimize UI if the GIF is about showing the game world
Leave UI in if the GIF is specifically demonstrating a game system
Optimize file size (Steam's editor handles this, but smaller files load faster)
Make sure the GIF reads well at the column width of a Steam description (roughly 616 pixels wide)

Localization Notes for Descriptions

Steam documentation states that over 60% of Steam users run the platform in a language other than English. Translating your store page description is one of the highest-ROI localization moves you can make, and it's significantly cheaper than translating your full game.

Steamworks lets you enter localized copy by clicking the language dropdown in the top right of the text editor. You can localize:

Short description
Long description
Screenshots (drag and drop localized versions onto existing thumbnails)
Community announcements

Priority languages for most indie games: Simplified Chinese, Russian, German, Japanese, and Spanish. These cover the largest non-English Steam audiences. For a deeper breakdown, read our Steam page localization guide.

When writing your English description with localization in mind:

Avoid idioms and slang that don't translate well
Use clear, simple sentence structures
Avoid humor that relies on English wordplay
Keep feature lists factual and direct

This doesn't mean your English description should be boring. It means your sentence-level clarity should be high enough that a translator can render it accurately without guessing what you meant.

A/B Testing Your Description (Sort Of)

Steam doesn't offer native A/B testing for store pages. But you can iterate.

Method 1: Update and track. Change your description, then watch your store page conversion rate in the Sales & Activation Reports portal. The "Traffic Breakdown" section shows visits versus wishlists. Change one thing at a time, wait two weeks, compare.

Method 2: Test the copy externally first. Post your short description on Reddit, in Discord communities, or on indie dev forums. Ask "what genre do you think this game is?" and "would you click on this?" The answers will surprise you.

Method 3: Study what works. Read the descriptions of the top 10 games in your genre on Steam. Not the AAA titles with million-dollar marketing. The indie games with 1,000+ reviews that feel like genuine peers to yours. Note what their descriptions have in common. That's your template.

The Description Checklist

Before you publish, walk through this:

Short Description:

Long Description:

Opens with a GIF or compelling visual
One-paragraph pitch near the top
Feature lists with bold section headers
3-4 GIFs spread between text sections
Paragraphs are 1-3 sentences
No external links
No fake Steam UI elements
No cross-promotion widgets
Reviewed for readability at Steam's column width

Localization:

Localized into top target languages (at minimum, store page text)
English version uses clear, translatable sentence structures

Your description won't save a game that nobody wants. But for a game people are curious about? The description is the difference between a wishlist and a bounce. Write it like it matters, because it does. Your words are doing the selling while you sleep. What consistently works is treating your description as a living document—developers who iterate on their copy based on conversion data see steady improvement over time.

Free Tool: Steam Image Resizer — Resize your screenshots and capsule art to all required Steam formats. Runs in your browser, no signup required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should my Steam description and press kit description be identical?

Nearly so. Adapt tone slightly (Steam talks to players, press kit talks to journalists), but the core message should match. Your short description can often be copy-pasted directly.

How do I add GIFs to my Steam description?

Steam's description editor supports animated GIFs and WebMs. Upload them through the visual editor. They auto-play as users scroll, grabbing attention before anyone reads a word.

What languages should I prioritize for store page localization?

Simplified Chinese, Russian, German, Japanese, and Spanish cover the largest non-English Steam audiences. Translating just the store page (not the whole game) is cheap and dramatically increases visibility.

Can I A/B test my Steam description?

Not natively. But you can iterate: change one element, wait two weeks, check conversion rates in your Traffic Breakdown. Test copy externally first on Reddit or Discord to see what resonates.

This article is part of our series on steam page optimization. Start with the complete guide:

Optimizing your Steam page

Also in this series:

How to Write a Steam Description That Converts