Steam capsule art sizes and rules: the 4 required images, what reads at thumbnail size, and how to avoid common rejections.
Direct answer, Steam capsule art is the most-viewed asset of your game: it's the thumbnail everywhere on Steam (store, library, discovery queues, wishlist). You must provide four required images, header (460×215), small capsule (231×87), large capsule (616×353) and vertical (600×900), and the practical rule is that every design must be legible at thumbnail size and communicate genre + tone in 3 seconds. Steam rejects capsules with text overload, tiny details or misleading art (Steamworks asset guidelines).
Who this is for, Developers preparing or redesigning their store page, and solo devs doing their own key art.
Step-by-step:
- Know the four required formats: header 460×215 (library + store), small capsule 231×87 (filters), large capsule 616×353 (featured slots), vertical 600×900 (queue). Design from the largest, verify at the smallest.
- Lead with gameplay-feel, not logos: show a clear genre signal and tone in 3 seconds; no text beyond the title (and keep even that minimal).
- Check contrast and contrast again: on dark Steam surfaces, dark-on-dark art disappears; test on white and dark backgrounds.
- Avoid the classic rejections: text cramming, clutter, unclear focal point, misleading genre promises (players who click and don't convert hurt your signal).
- Keep it consistent: your capsule, screenshots and trailer should tell the same genre story, mismatched art creates broken expectations.
- Test at 460×215 and 231×87: if the title is unreadable or the focal point vanishes, simplify.
Assets you need, Original key art (large format), title logo, genre-appropriate composition, white/dark background test versions.
Platform boundaries, Valve manually reviews store assets; rejected capsules must be fixed and resubmitted. Capsule quality raises click-through odds, but placement and sales are decided by Steam's algorithm and players.
Common mistakes:
- Designing only for the large format and ignoring thumbnail legibility
- Text overload (Steam explicitly discourages it; title + minimal tagline max)
- Dark-on-dark art that vanishes on Steam's dark UI
- Genre-mismatched art (a cozy look for an action game → wrong clicks, low conversion)
- Forgetting the four required formats until review day
Next step, Writing the copy that sits under the capsule is repetitive work: IndieSwell generates editable promo copy per Steam game category and keeps store page assets organized in one workflow. Exposure and sales results are not guaranteed. → "Download the app" / "View plans"
Sources, Steamworks official store page asset guidelines (dimensions and rejection rules); common Steam capsule design analysis.
FAQ:
- What are the Steam capsule art sizes?, Header 460×215, small capsule 231×87, large capsule 616×353, vertical 600×900.
- Can I use text in the capsule?, Minimal, the title is usually enough; Steam discourages text cramming.
- Why was my capsule rejected?, Common reasons: text overload, clutter, misleading art, unreadable thumbnails, fix and resubmit.
- Does the capsule affect sales?, It's the most-viewed asset and drives click-through; it can't guarantee sales, but weak capsules quietly tax every channel.
Product bridge, Beyond the capsule, every channel needs organized copy and assets: IndieSwell generates editable promo copy per Steam game category and keeps store page materials organized in one workflow, Free forever, assets stay local. Exposure and sales results are not guaranteed. → "Download the app" / "View plans"
🇧🇷 pt-BR 完整正文
Resposta direta: a cápsula precisa comunicar gênero e gancho em tamanho pequeno, com contraste e leitura rápida. Teste a imagem na página da loja e em miniaturas.
Etapas: comece por uma composição grande; confira as versões Header 460×215, pequena 231×87, grande 616×353 e vertical 600×900; teste o contraste em fundos claros e escuros; remova texto pequeno e sinais de gênero ambíguos; compare a cápsula com as capturas e o trailer.
Materiais necessários: logotipo, personagem ou objeto principal, quatro tamanhos exigidos, paleta de cores, capturas e trailer para comparação.
Limites: a Valve pode rejeitar o material e pedir novo envio. Uma cápsula clara aumenta a chance de clique, mas não garante impressões, listas de desejos ou vendas.
Limites: uma cápsula melhor ajuda a comunicação, mas não garante conversão ou vendas.
🇪🇸 es 完整正文
Respuesta directa: la cápsula debe comunicar género y gancho en tamaño pequeño, con contraste y lectura rápida. Prueba la imagen en la tienda y en miniaturas.
Pasos: empieza con una composición grande; comprueba las versiones Header 460×215, pequeña 231×87, grande 616×353 y vertical 600×900; prueba el contraste sobre fondos claros y oscuros; elimina texto diminuto y señales de género ambiguas; compara la cápsula con las capturas y el tráiler.
Materiales necesarios: logotipo, personaje u objeto principal, cuatro tamaños requeridos, paleta de color, capturas y tráiler para comparar.
Límites: Valve puede rechazar el material y pedir que lo vuelvas a enviar. Una cápsula clara aumenta la posibilidad de clic, pero no garantiza impresiones, listas de deseos ni ventas.
Límites: una cápsula mejor comunica más, pero no garantiza conversión ni ventas.
🇨🇳 zh-CN 完整正文
直接回答：Steam 胶囊图会出现在商店、库、发现队列和愿望单。四种常用尺寸是 Header 460×215、小胶囊 231×87、大胶囊 616×353、竖版 600×900。缩小后仍要看得懂，并在三秒内传达品类和氛围；文字过多、细节太小或画面误导，可能被 Steamworks 驳回。
执行步骤：从大图设计，再用最小尺寸检查；用玩法感和品类信号开场；在深色和白色背景分别检查对比度；清理文字堆叠和错误品类暗示；让胶囊图、截图和预告片保持同一品类故事；复查 460×215 与 231×87 的可读性。
平台边界：Valve 会人工审核素材，被驳回后需修改重提。素材质量可能提升点击机会，但展示位置和销量由 Steam 与玩家决定。IndieSwell 可整理商店素材和生成文案，不保证曝光或销量。→“下载客户端” / “查看套餐”
🇹🇼 zh-TW 完整正文
直接回答：Steam 膠囊圖會出現在商店、庫、探索佇列和願望清單。四種常用尺寸是 Header 460×215、小膠囊 231×87、大膠囊 616×353、直式 600×900。縮小後仍要看得懂，並在三秒內傳達類型和氛圍；文字過多、細節太小或畫面誤導，可能被 Steamworks 退件。
執行步驟：從大圖設計，再用最小尺寸檢查；用玩法感和類型訊號開場；分別在深色與白色背景檢查對比度；清理文字堆疊和錯誤類型暗示；讓膠囊圖、截圖和預告片保持同一類型故事；複查 460×215 與 231×87 的可讀性。
平台界線：Valve 會人工審核素材，退件後需修改重提。素材品質可能提升點擊機會，但展示位置和銷量由 Steam 與玩家決定。IndieSwell 可整理商店素材與產生文案，不保證曝光或銷量。→「下載客戶端」 / 「查看方案」
🇷🇺 ru 完整正文
Прямой ответ: Подготовьте четыре размера капсулы Steam и проверьте читаемость на миниатюре. Покажите жанр и настроение, избегайте лишнего текста и низкого контраста. Valve проверяет материалы вручную, а качество капсулы не гарантирует показы или продажи.
Этапы: начните с большой композиции; проверьте Header 460×215, малую 231×87, большую 616×353 и вертикальную 600×900 версии; протестируйте контраст на светлом и тёмном фоне; уберите мелкий текст и неоднозначные жанровые сигналы; сравните капсулу со скриншотами и трейлером.
Материалы: логотип, главный персонаж или объект, четыре требуемых размера, цветовая палитра, скриншоты и трейлер для сверки.
Границы: Valve может отклонить материал и попросить повторную отправку. Хорошая капсула повышает шанс клика, но не гарантирует показы, вишлисты или продажи.
🇯🇵 ja 完整正文
直接回答：Steam の 4 種類のカプセルサイズを用意し、サムネイルでも読めるか確認します。ジャンルと雰囲気を伝え、文字量と低コントラストを避けます。Valve の審査に通っても表示や売上は保証されません。暗い背景と明るい背景の両方で確認し、他の素材と印象を揃えてください。最小サイズでタイトルと主役が消える場合は要素を減らし、スクリーンショットやトレーラーとも印象を揃えます。
🇰🇷 ko 完整正文
직접 답변: Steam의 네 가지 캡슐 크기를 준비하고 썸네일에서도 읽히는지 확인하세요. 장르와 분위기를 전달하고 글자 과다와 낮은 대비를 피합니다. Valve 심사를 통과해도 노출과 판매는 보장되지 않습니다. 밝은 배경과 어두운 배경에서 확인하고 다른 상점 소재와 인상을 맞추세요. 가장 작은 크기에서 제목과 주제가 사라지면 요소를 줄이고 스크린샷과 트레일러의 인상도 맞추세요.