On Steam, your game is a thumbnail on a shelf with hundreds of others. The capsule image is the single biggest driver of whether a browsing player clicks your page — Valve's own experiments consistently show that capsule art changes click-through more than price or tags. Yet many indie developers design the capsule as an afterthought. This guide covers what actually works in Steam store imagery, with the exact sizes and layout rules.
The capsule is an ad, not a screenshot
A common mistake is using a gameplay screenshot as the capsule. Screenshots explain your game to people who are already interested; the capsule has to create interest. Treat it as a movie poster: a focal character or object, a mood, a readable title, a hook — nothing else.
The layout rules that consistently outperform:
- One focal element, large (the hero, the monster, the key item)
- Title readable at thumbnail size (the small capsule is 231×87 px — the title must survive that)
- High contrast between the subject and the background
- A single mood (dark fantasy, cozy, neon) — mixed moods confuse
- No more than three text elements total (title, subtitle, badge)
On a shelf, your capsule competes for a split-second glance. If the eye cannot find the subject and read the title instantly, you have lost that glance.
The capsule sizes and their jobs
Steam displays several capsule variants. Each has a different job:
| Capsule | Size | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Header capsule | 460×215 | Your store page hero — first impression after the click |
| Small capsule | 231×87 | Search results, shelves, discovery queues — where most browsing happens |
| Main capsule | 616×353 | Store front, top sellers, larger shelves |
| Library capsule | 600×900 | Portrait; appears in every player's library — your long-term brand |
| Library hero | 1438×810 | New Steam Library background |
Design the small capsule first. It is the hardest (tiny, wide, text-heavy) and the most seen. If the small capsule works, the larger ones are refinements of the same composition.
Text rules for capsules
Text on capsules breaks more designs than any other element:
- Title at the largest readable weight — check at 231×87, not at full size
- Never place critical text in the bottom 15% (wishlist and sale badges overlap it)
- Keep the title within the safe center 80% (rounded corners and UI overlap the edges)
- Avoid subtitle text on the small capsule — it will not read
- High contrast behind text: a dark scrim or a solid shape, never busy art
If your title is long, Steam's own templates still expect it to fit the width. Shorten the displayed title on the capsule if needed (the store listing can carry the full name).
Color and shelf psychology
Steam shelves are dark. Dark backgrounds make dark capsules vanish; light backgrounds pop. This does not mean every capsule must be light — it means the focal element must be bright or saturated against whatever background you choose.
- Dark capsule + bright focal element: the standard cinematic look
- Light capsule: rare and attention-grabbing on a dark shelf, but keep the title dark
- Use one dominant hue family + one accent (violet + gold, cyan + magenta)
- Avoid pure black backgrounds — they blend into Steam's own UI
Saturation is your friend at shelf size. Desaturated art that looks "premium" at full size disappears in a grid of thumbnails.
The library capsule is your long-term ad
Players see the library capsule (600×900 portrait) every time they open Steam, forever. It is your least-seen-but-most-repeated impression. Rules:
- Design it as its own composition — a vertical crop of the header capsule usually fails
- Use the same focal element and palette as the store capsule for brand continuity
- Keep the title and subject in the upper 75% (the wishlist button overlaps the bottom)
- Consistency matters across a series: if you have sequels, keep the layout and title position
A recognizable library grid is free marketing — players see your game daily even when they are not looking for it.
Steam's own requirements
Steam enforces asset requirements at submission. The recurring ones developers trip on:
- Main capsule: 616×353, JPG or PNG, no rounded corners (Valve adds them)
- Header capsule: 460×215, no text outside safe margins
- Library capsule: 600×900
- Library hero: 1438×810
- All capsules: keep text within safe zones, avoid embedded ratings or awards
Valve also discourages fake user-interface elements on capsules ("fake play buttons," "wishlist now" styling). Keep it honest: a clean focal image and the title.
Testing capsules like an ad
You can test capsule performance before launch:
- Build 2–3 capsule candidates with different focal elements or color directions
- Shrink them to 231×87 and lay them on a dark background beside real competitor capsules
- Ask 5–10 people (not friends) which game they would click — timing matters: show for 2 seconds
- Prefer the capsule that wins for the wrong people, not just your target audience
The capsule is the first dollar of your marketing budget spent — and it costs nothing but design time to get right. Design it as an ad: one focal element, one mood, a title that survives a thumbnail, and colors that pop on a dark shelf. Get that right and the rest of your store page has something to live up to.