What Is the Steam Logo?
The Steam logo is a round symbol of two linked rings joined by a thick arm, like the rod and wheel of a steam engine, set beside the name STEAM in capital letters. Steam is the PC game store and platform run by Valve, the games company.
Valve is based in Bellevue. Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington, former Microsoft employees, founded it in nearby Kirkland, Washington, on 24 August 1996.
The round symbol also works alone as the icon of the Steam app. Valve's hardware and services carry related marks, such as the Steam Deck handheld and the Steam Workshop. The symbol with the name is available as the Steam logo SVG.
Steam Logo Facts
| Symbol | A piston rod and wheel inside a circle |
| Logo type | Combination mark: wordmark and symbol |
| Owner | Valve Corporation |
What the Steam Logo Means
The name and the symbol tell the same story. Steam is the power behind the engines of the industrial age. The symbol draws the moving parts that turn that power into motion: a rod linking two round joints, as on a locomotive's driving wheel.
Valve has not published an official explanation of the drawing. The steam-engine reading comes from what the symbol shows, not from a statement by the company.
Steam Logo History
Steam launched in a dark green colour scheme in 2003, moved to a black logo, and revived the green for its 20th anniversary.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Valve announces Steam at the Game Developers Conference on 22 March and opens a beta |
| 2003 | Steam leaves beta and launches on 12 September, in dark green |
| 2004 | Half-Life 2 arrives in November |
| 2016 | A black version of the logo is in use by this year |
| 2023 | Valve revives the original dark green on 12 September |
Steam's big test came with Half-Life 2, Valve's own game. It was the first high-profile game sold digitally through Steam. The Steam client was required even for boxed copies, to install and, with an internet connection, to start the single-player campaign.
Many players disliked the requirement at the time, and overloaded servers made the launch rocky.
The black version, with a white circle holding the gear and arm beside the word STEAM, was in use by 2016. By the time Steam turned 20 the green had long gone. On the anniversary Valve brought it back on the Steam store as a nod to 2003, and published a timeline of key moments in Steam's history.
Steam and the Consoles
Steam turned the PC into a games platform with its own store. The rivals in the living room sell consoles under their own marks: compare the PlayStation logo and the Nintendo logo. With the Steam Deck, Valve took the Steam name into handheld hardware too.
For more brands like Steam, browse our gaming logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Steam logo show?
A circle holding two linked rings joined by a thick arm, which looks like the piston rod and wheel of a steam engine.
Who owns Steam?
Valve Corporation, the games company founded by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington in 1996.
When did Steam launch?
Steam left beta and launched on 12 September 2003, after Valve announced it at the Game Developers Conference in March 2002.
Why was Steam green on its 20th birthday?
Valve brought back the dark green of the original 2003 design for its 20th anniversary on 12 September 2023.