How To Let Your Friends Watch You Play Games On Steam

Setting Up Steam Broadcast

To share your gaming experiences with friends, Steam offers a built-in feature called Steam Broadcast. Here’s how you can set it up:

1. Open Steam and Access Settings:

   • Open the Steam client and click on Steam in the top-left corner.
   • Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
   • Navigate to the Broadcast section.

2. Configure Privacy Settings:

   • In the Broadcast settings, click on the Privacy setting drop-down menu.
   • Choose one of the following options:
     • Friends can request to watch my games: This setting allows friends to request permission to watch your game sessions.
     • Friends can watch my games: This setting allows friends to watch your game sessions without needing express consent.
     • Anyone can watch my games: This setting makes your broadcast public, allowing anyone to watch.

3. Adjust Broadcast Settings:

• You can also adjust other settings such as Video Dimensions and Maximum Bitrate to optimize for quality or performance.
• Enable Record my microphone if you want to include your voice in the broadcast.

Starting the Broadcast

1. Launch Your Game:

   • Start the game you want to play. Your friends will see the game you’re playing in their Friends List.

2. Allow Friends to Watch:

   • If you’ve set your privacy settings to Friends can request to watch my games, accept the watch request when it appears.
   • If you’ve set it to Friends can watch my games, they can start watching immediately without needing permission.

How Friends Can Watch

1. Friends List Access:

   • Friends can right-click your name in their Friends List and select Watch Game to start watching your broadcast.

2. Public Broadcasts:

   • If you’ve chosen to make your broadcast public, anyone can watch by finding your broadcast in the public listings.

Communicating with Friends During the Broadcast

1. Using Steam Overlay:

   • Press Shift + Tab to bring up the Steam Overlay while playing. This allows you to type messages in the Broadcast panel to chat with your friends.

2. Voice Chat:

   • To voice chat with friends, right-click their name in your Friends List and select Start Voice Chat. Ensure that Record my microphone is enabled in the Broadcast settings for voice chat to work.

Stopping the Broadcast

1. Ending the Broadcast:

   • To stop the broadcast, bring up the Steam Overlay by pressing Shift + Tab and click Stop in the Broadcast panel.

2. Alternative Methods:

   • Alternatively, you can close the game, and the broadcast will automatically end. If the broadcast doesn’t end, you can completely exit Steam to stop it.

By following these steps, you can easily share your gaming experiences with friends and enhance your social interactions while playing games on Steam.