Steam Points Guide 2025: How to Earn, Use & Spend Steam Points for Customization

Steam Points are Valve’s official reward system on Steam, introduced to give players more ways to personalize their gaming experience. You earn Steam Points by buying games, DLC, or contributing to the community with reviews and guides. These points can then be spent in the Steam Points Shop to unlock a wide range of Steam profile customization options — from animated backgrounds and avatars to chat effects and stickers.

In this Steam Points guide 2025, we’ll explain exactly how to use Steam Points, the best ways to spend Steam Points, and how they work with Steam Deck customization. If you want to level up your Steam profile, add seasonal badges, or give your Steam Deck a unique startup movie, this guide covers everything you need to know.

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What are Steam Points in 2025: How They Work and Why They Matter

Launched in 2020, Steam Points were introduced by Valve as a way for players to earn rewards and unlock deeper Steam profile customization. By spending points in the Steam Points Shop, users can personalize nearly every aspect of their profile, from animated backgrounds and avatars to seasonal badges and chat effects.

Now, in 2025, as personalization becomes more important than ever, this Steam Points guide shows how players can use their points to completely overhaul their profiles or even explore unique Steam Deck customization options. For many, the best way to spend Steam Points is on cosmetic upgrades that make their account and devices stand out.

For more setup tips and performance tweaks, check out our full guide: CS2 on Steam Deck – Performance, Controls & Setup Tips.

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How to earn Steam Points: From Games, DLC, and Community Rewards

Buying Games and DLC: 1150 points per $1

For each $1 you spend on Steam, you will earn 115 points to spend on the points store. This counts for game purchases and DLC, though it does not count if you add funds to your wallet. This means roughly every $40 is enough to buy at least one item on the Steam Points Store.

Earning Points Through Reviews, Screenshots, and Guides

You can also earn points for leaving reviews of a game or uploading community content such as screenshots, guides, videos, etc. A review, for example, will award you 100 Steam Points, though it will take around 14 days to appear in your points wallet. 

Do Steam Points Expire or Transfer?

Steam Points do not expire once you earn them. While you are unable to transfer them to other people, you can give other users awards. 

• Head to their profile
• Hit “more” on their profile
• Give a Community Award

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How to Use Steam Points: A Step-by-Step Guide to Spending Points in the Steam Points Shop

Navigating the Steam Points Shop in 2025

Spending your Steam Points is quick and easy. Just follow these steps:

• Launch the Steam application
• Click the Store tab and select Points Shop.

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• Use the navigation bar on the left to choose from categories like avatars, backgrounds, seasonal badges, chat effects, stickers, or Steam Deck customization.
• Many items are available in both static and animated versions.

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• Scroll through the shop and click on the customization option you want.
• Each item shows the Steam Points cost before you confirm.

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• Select the item and confirm the deduction for points.
• Your new avatar, background, sticker, or badge will be added instantly to your account.

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• Go to your Steam profile and click Edit Profile to apply the newly bought items.
• Choose your new avatar or background, or let stickers and chat effects automatically apply to your account.

Can You Buy Games With Steam Points

Steam Points can’t be used to buy games, DLC, or wallet funds. They are only a reward currency earned when you spend real money on Steam (games, DLC, in-game items, hardware). You then use them in the Steam Points Shop for profile and chat customization items (avatars, backgrounds, badges, stickers, chat effects, etc.).

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Best Ways to Spend Steam Points in 2025

You earn most of your Steam Points by buying games, DLC, or in-game items, but you can also gain them when other players give your reviews, guides, or screenshots Community Awards. Depending on the award (like Treasure, Mad Scientist, or Golden Unicorn), you’ll receive a share of the points as a “tip.”

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When it comes to spending, the best way to use Steam Points is often on Seasonal Badges during Steam’s Summer and Winter Sales, since they also grant Steam XP to level up your profile. Other popular options in the Steam Points Shop include animated avatars, profile backgrounds, chat effects, and Steam Deck customization items like startup movies and keyboards.

If you’re interested in trading, here’s a step-by-step guide on How to Sell CS2 Skins on the Steam Market.

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Steam Points Shop Rewards List 

There are several ways to customize your profile or Steam Deck, listed below with their price ranges. 

Customization	Cost Range	Notes/Limits
Keyboards	5,000	Steam Deck only
Startup Movie	3,000	Steam Deck Only
Avatars	500 – 3,000	Animated and still
Backgrounds	500 – 3,000	Animated and still
Seasonal Badges	1,000 – 40,000	Seasonal badges around Summer and Winter sales
Game Profiles	5,000 – 10,000	Official full game profile customization
Showcase	3,000 – 6,000	Upgrade your shadowcase section of your profile page
Animated Stickers	1,000	Chat customization
Chat Effects	1,500	Add “oomph” to your chats
Emoticons	100	Chat emojis

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Steam Points Badges and Profile Levels

One of the best ways to spend Steam Points during Steam’s major sales is on Seasonal Badges. These badges rotate during the Summer and Winter Sales, letting you spend points to upgrade them. Each upgrade not only unlocks a unique badge design but also grants Steam XP, helping you increase your overall Steam profile level.

Keep in mind that maxing out every badge would cost around 820,000 Steam Points (over $7,000 in purchases), so most players focus on upgrading just one or two badges each season. This makes Seasonal Badges a smart choice if you want both customization and profile progression without overspending.

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Best Steam Deck Customizations 

With the Steam Deck comes a new level of customization options. Here are some of the top Steam Deck customization options available in 2025 from the Steam Points store:

Digital – Keyboard – 5,000 Steam Points

Turn your Steam Deck into the ultimate early 2000s hacking device, lovely virtual keyboard.

TOTALLY TUBULAR – Keyboard – 5,000 Steam Points

Another great, colorful keyboard option for your Steam Deck.

Special Delivery – Startup Movie – 3,000 Steam Points

It’s one of the most unique of the custom Steam Deck Startup movies and offers a unique level of charm.

Turret Factory – Startup Movie – 3,000 Steam Points

The Portal Turret option lets the Steam Deck start up with a familiar sound and style from the series.

Vampire Survivors Chest – Startup Movie – 3,000 Steam Points 

There are several great game-opening startup movies. The Vampire Survivors Chest startup movie is popular for starting a gaming session.

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Top Community Picks

Here are three standout community picks from the Steam Points store.

Doom Guy Happy – Animated Avatar – 3,000 Steam Points 

While there are several official avatars, this is a great one for those looking to add a retro feel to their avatar. 

Meow Mail – Animated Profile Background – 2,000 Steam Points

Another option in the same style as the Steam Deck startup movie is a cute anime background. 

Cat Cam Popcorn – Animated Sticker – 1,000 Steam Points

If there’s drama in the chat, it’s a good time to bring out the popcorn cat. 

Steam Points Shop Customization Options 

There are several options for changing your profile, the most striking of which is the background, as shown above.

Another aspect is chat customization via emoticons and stickers. As you can see from the example below, stickers and emoticons can also be used to call attention to friends during gaming sessions.

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Steam Points FAQ: Earning, Spending & Awards Explained

What happens if I refund a game?

If you refund a game or DLC, the Steam Points you earned from that purchase will be removed from your account.

Can I give or transfer points?

You can’t directly transfer Steam Points to another player. However, you can spend points on Community Awards for reviews, guides, or screenshots, which sends a portion of the points to the recipient.

What’s the quickest way to earn points?

The fastest way to earn Steam Points is by buying games, DLC, or in-game items. You can also gain points indirectly when other players award your reviews, guides, or screenshots with Community Awards.

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Final Thoughts: How to Use and Spend Steam Points in 2025

Steam Points remain one of the best ways to personalize your Steam experience in 2025. Whether you’re upgrading Seasonal Badges for Steam XP, collecting animated avatars and profile backgrounds, or unlocking unique Steam Deck customization items like startup movies and keyboards, there are countless ways to make your account stand out.

This Steam Points guide shows that the best ways to spend Steam Points depend on your goals — leveling up your profile, enhancing your chats, or simply showing off your favorite games. And while you can’t buy games directly with Steam Points, the customization options in the Steam Points Shop ensure that your time and purchases on Steam always give something back.