How to Grow Your Steam Community With Giveaways

Growing a Steam community rarely comes down to one big moment. For most developers and publishers, it’s the result of repeated exposure, clear communication, and giving players consistent reasons to engage over time.

Giveaways won’t replace strong gameplay, regular updates, or community management. But when they’re used intentionally, they can support Steam community growth by turning short bursts of attention into longer-term signals, follows, wishlists, discussion activity, and ongoing interest.

Steam behaves very differently from most social platforms.

There is no infinite feed designed for discovery, and there’s no reliable way to “go viral” inside Steam itself. Growth tends to come from a combination of:

• External traffic arriving at the right moment
• Players choosing to follow or wishlist
• Regular updates that keep a page active and relevant

Because of this, Steam rewards momentum and continuity, not one-off spikes.

A giveaway fits into this ecosystem as a supporting tool that helps convert attention into meaningful player actions. Its role is to give players a reason to:

• Pay attention now
• Take a small action
• Stay connected after that first interaction

On Steam, giveaways tend to work best when they’re tied to a specific moment or goal rather than run “just because”.

Teams commonly use giveaways to:

• Encourage first interaction with a Steam store page
• Prompt players to follow or wishlist
• Re-engage interest around updates, demos, or releases
• Support promotion outside Steam (email, Discord, social media)

They’re less about discovery on their own, and more about making existing interest stick.

Different stages of a game’s lifecycle call for different types of giveaways. Below are common ways teams use them in practice.

Before launch, giveaways are usually focused on building anticipation and early signals.

Common goals:

• Increasing wishlists
• Growing followers ahead of announcements
• Building an email or Discord audience

Typical giveaway ideas:

• Wishlist reminder giveaways tied to trailers or dev updates
• Closed beta or demo access giveaways
• Early access key draws for followers or email subscribers

These campaigns give interested players a reason to take action now, rather than “sometime later”.

Around launch, updates, or major milestones, giveaways are often used to concentrate attention.

Common goals:

• Supporting a release or major patch
• Driving traffic during a limited window
• Bringing lapsed followers back to the page

Typical giveaway ideas:

• Launch-week game key giveaways
• DLC or expansion access draws
• Free weekend or demo promotion giveaways

These work best when paired with a clear announcement or event, not run in isolation.

For live games, giveaways tend to support ongoing engagement, not growth for its own sake.

Common goals:

• Encouraging repeat interaction
• Growing discussion and community participation
• Supporting regular content drops

Typical giveaway ideas:

• In-game item or cosmetic giveaways
• Fan-only merchandise draws
• Community milestone giveaways tied to updates or events

Over time, these campaigns help reinforce a sense of continuity rather than novelty.

While the formats vary, most effective Steam giveaways share a few common elements.

Entry actions usually mirror the behaviour teams want players to repeat later, such as:

• Visiting the Steam store page
• Following the Steam community
• Signing up for email updates
• Joining a Discord server

A small number of relevant actions tends to outperform long lists of unrelated steps.

On Steam, relevance almost always matters more than prize value.

Prizes that typically work well:

• Game keys
• DLC or in-game items
• Beta or early access
• Limited merchandise for fans

Prizes that attract less useful attention:

• Generic gift cards
• Unrelated tech or gadgets
• High-value items with no connection to the game

Fewer participants who care about the game are usually more valuable than a large pool of one-time entrants.

Because Steam doesn’t widely distribute giveaways internally, most reach comes from elsewhere.

Common promotion channels include:

• Your website or blog
• Email newsletters
• Discord servers
• Social media
• Partner or publisher communities

The giveaway provides the incentive.
Your existing channels provide the reach.

Giveaways won’t magically grow a Steam community on their own.

But when they’re used as part of a wider system, with clear goals, relevant prizes, and consistent follow-up, they can support meaningful, long-term community growth.

Used this way, giveaways stop being isolated promotions and start becoming a reliable part of a Steam growth strategy.