Please let us link non-Steam games as known Steam games

[Tyrian Mollusk]

I should be able to take my non-Steam link and inform the client which Steam game it is, and have the client treat it exactly like the Steam game, with tags, commnunity feed, etc.

I was just setting logos/artwork for some of my non-Steam game links, but I should not have to do this for games that are actually on Steam already (eg, my Uplay and Origin games), and just setting the artwork still leaves a much worse and functionality-lacking library page than ought to be there.

Also, at some point there really should to be a way to do this for games that are not on Steam at all. For example, I tell Steam my "Guild Wars 2" non-Steam game is THE Guild Wars 2, and it hooks into it as a known game with tags, community sourced (or even official, if they cooperate) artwork, and such. That would make using it a lot nicer and more functional, especially since even getting the basic client look ok for a game is such a pain (why can't we set all these things on a game from one place?).

[Wounded Kitten]

I would like this feature too.

[Acecool]

You can add non steam game as a link in your library. In addition, you can IGNORE a game you own on another platform ( with the specific option under ignore that you 'own' the game on another platform - which is then used to give you recommendations, etc... )...

In short - there is a way to do this, but it is tedious.

I would like to see their store properly show which DLC you own, if it came with a different version of the game so you don't re-buy it, which doesn't accomplish anything other than burning your money...

[Wounded Kitten]

Originally posted by Acecool:

You can add non steam game as a link in your library. In addition, you can IGNORE a game you own on another platform ( with the specific option under ignore that you 'own' the game on another platform - which is then used to give you recommendations, etc... )...

In short - there is a way to do this, but it is tedious.

That's not what OP's asking. Basically, OP wants the option for steam to treat a Non-Steam game as if it were a steam title. For example; say you have a GOG release of a game that is also on steam. With this, you would be able to get all the benefits of steam, without having to buy the game twice.

[môrgondír]

I would really appreciate the ability to do this also -- many of my older games are now available on Steam, and it would be nice to have those features (especially the Community feed & tags, but also achievements [ if applicable ] ).

[Tyrian Mollusk]

Originally posted by Acecool:

You can add non steam game as a link in your library. In addition, you can IGNORE a game you own on another platform ( with the specific option under ignore that you 'own' the game on another platform - which is then used to give you recommendations, etc... )...

That isn't what's being requested at all. I'm asking for a feature on top of listing a non-Steam game in my Steam client. Basically, when I add a game that way, I'd like Steam to recognize or allow me to tell it that is is a specific actual game, and offer basic features.

The client info you see for a Steam game, and it's various artwork info and community feeds could easily be used for the same game added as a non-Steam game. They could even be handled for known non-Steam games that don't have a Steam equivalent.

For example, I generally start Guild Wars 2 through Steam, which lets me use Steam's controller mapping. It even lets me try other people's controller configs, because it knows Guild Wars 2 enough to do that, but it has no artwork or feeds or other stuff that would be easy to associate with GW2. The same goes for my Trials: Fusion and NFS: Hot Pursuit, even though both of those games are on Steam and fully known to it already. I have to find artwork and add it manually, and I don't get friend activity and whatnot, even though Steam knows stuff is happening with that game.

Originally posted by Computer_Player:

With this, you would be able to get all the benefits of steam, without having to buy the game twice.

"Getting all the benefits of Steam" would be a larger thing, where letting Steam know I bought a game elsewhere would let me review it and earn cards and such, but that's not really something Steam will plausibly do (for one, it's a huge pain to prove I'm actually adding that game and not just faking it to enter shill reviews). I don't ask that, although it is pretty annoying not being allowed to enter reviews because I bought the game elsewhere.

[Acecool]

I think this would be a great feature - however it is unlikely.

If a game is released without Steam DRM built in, you lose a lot of features. Additionally, other things may change which can affect Steam-based features.

It would be possible, but I doubt they'll do it. They have 'partnered' with UPlay, in a way that if you purchase a game on Steam, and the game is a UPlay game, then it uses Steam DRM and UPlay DRM by launching the game through Steam, which launches UPlay and / or tells UPlay which game to launch.

They would have to essentially do something like this.


Honestly, I never heard of Playnite before this and I think it is a great idea - I'd love to see Steam offer this and offer some support such as discussions, etc..

It would show it is the 'better' platform, willing to support Steam titles, even if they aren't Steam exclusive.


As far as my original post - that is currently the only way you can have some of the features ( ie: having the game show up in your library, and hiding it from the store and showing that it is actually purchased somewhere else ) as you will get right now.