It wasn’t too long ago that Valve announced it was working on its game recording feature, something that would take on the current offerings from Nvidia, AMD, OBS, and other in-game recording tools you might use, even if you’re playing on the Steam Deck, not use. Well, now that the game recording option has been officially released, you can stop using the beta. If you don’t see it showing up in your Steam application, you may need to completely shut it down first, then it should appear.
This is more than just a game recorder; not only can it record up to 120 minutes of gameplay in the background as soon as you launch a game from Steam, but it’s also perfect for those moments when you wish you’d recorded that gameplay. Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there.
Footage or clips are created as mp4s that can be exported, shared via other Steam members, links, sent to phones that have the Steam mobile app installed, or as I found, between other devices that are running Steam.
It also lets you edit and trim gameplay footage in the built-in editor, which is handy if you just want to savor that awesome moment or even capture a time you got your ass kicked. There’s even an option to record audio directly from the game, all system audio, or your microphone. This is great for those who like to play games while listening to something else in the background, such as a podcast or music.
In comparison to Nvidia’s Shadowplay or OBS, this feature works with AMD GPUs, in addition to the Steam Deck and any device with SteamOS installed – it’s working as intended on my ASUS ROG Ally X that has Bazzite installed. There’s also an option to assign specific recording qualities. For example, you could assign Elden Ring a higher quality default, while setting another game to a lower quality. All this can be done without manually adjusting bitrates.
While it may seem unusual to be excited about the ability to record gameplay, this is something that benefits all content creators, big or small. So, seeing companies still innovating in the ability to capture gameplay footage is definitely appreciated.
