Steam Game Recording might be one of its best features yet, allowing players to capture and share footage using the launcher itself

Valve has added a new Game Recording feature to Steam. The feature, currently in beta, does what it says on the tin; allowing players to capture and share game footage through the Steam launcher without any external software.

The Game Recording feature is detailed on its dedicated landing page, where it explains that players can use it to capture individual highlights or even record "entire campaigns," hinting that there's no limit to the length of recorded footage beyond what your PC's storage allows.

The website then details the four core pillars of the Game Recording feature. Firstly, Background Recording mode captures gameplay during your session without exceeding storage limits or duration set by the user. An 'On Demand Recording' mode is also available, letting players stop and start recording at the press of a button. They can then go into footage and access its timeline to pick out key moments or perform basic editing.

The second option is Replay, which seems to act similarly to how PS5 and Xbox consoles record and save gameplay events that just happened. As Steam itself puts it, this will be a useful feature for figuring out how you just died or if you want to recall crucial dialogue spoken by an NPC.

Next is the Clip feature. Pretty self-explanatory, this one. It pretty much lets you trim footage down to a select segment of gameplay; undoubtedly handy for sharing specific clips with friends or even piecing together YouTube Shorts.

Lastly, and perhaps most obvious, is the Share feature. Steam's Game Recording feature lets players efficiently convert clips to MP4 format for sharing online and across social media. You're even able to send clips between devices, like from Steam Deck to PC or vice versa, for example.

Valve also confirms that Game Recording is Steam Deck Verified, meaning you'll be able to record footage while you're on to go, too. It seems like a very promising feature, and I'm sure many players will appreciate being able to do all this through Steam for ease of use rather than relying on third-party software.

You might also like...

• Steam players' use of controllers has tripled since 2018
• The Wireless Horipad for Steam looks like a spiritual successor to the Steam controller
• PlayStation Pulse Explore earbuds review: perfect for PS5, peerless for PlayStation Portal