Not only can you buy games on Steam, but you can also send them as gifts to your friends. You can gift a game on Steam by simply selecting the Purchase as a gift option during the checkout.
You can also gift the extra copies of games in your inventory that you’ve received from purchasing special game bundles.
But as we know, game genres can be pretty subjective. So, if you feel unsure about gifting a certain type of game, you can also send them gift cards.
Gifting a Game
You can gift games to your friend on both Steam’s web version and the client application version. But make sure the person you’re trying to send the gift to is already on your friend list.
- On Steam, open the game’s store page that you wish to gift.
- Hit the Add to Cart button.
- Choose the Purchase as a gift option.
- Pick the friend you wish to gift the game to and click the Continue button. Here, you can also schedule the delivery date of the gift.
- Add a personalized note with some custom message to your gift and hit Continue.
- If your Steam wallet has an insufficient balance, you must pick a payment method and fill in the payment details. Otherwise, you can skip this step.
- Verify the game, payment methods, and delivery date from the review screen and hit the Purchase button to complete the transaction.
Gifting a Duplicate Game Copy
Some game developers often release special promotion bundles where you would receive extra copies of the game solely to share it with your friends. To get started, make sure the recipient already has their Steam account.
- Launch Steam.
- Click on the Games option on the menubar and choose Manage Gift and Guest Passes.
- Switch to the Games tab.
- Select the game you wish to gift and hit the Send gift button.
- Here, you’ll need to pick a delivery method. I.e., via email address or directly through Steam.
- If you want to gift the game via Steam, refer to step 4 of the previous method.
Gifting a Gift Card
If you can’t decide on the game you want to gift or you’re worried whether or not they’ll like the game, then you can go the safest route and purchase gift cards.
Through gift cards, the recipient can add balance to their Steam wallet and purchase any game they like.
You can purchase five different tiers of gift cards ranging from 5$ to 100$. Here’s how,
- Open Steam and click on Steam Gift Cards. You can also search the term “gift cards” on the Steam search bar.
- Click the Send Through Steam option.
- Pick the Gift card amount. Select the friend from the list and hit Continue.
- Select the friend and add a special note along with the gift card.
- Next, choose your payment method and enter your payment details.
- Lastly, hit the Purchase button on the review screen to complete your purchase.