Yes. Steam lets you mark an individual game as private before you complete a purchase or after you own it. The game stays in your Library, but Steam hides its ownership and related activity from other users on the Steam surfaces it documents. This is different from hiding a game in your own Library, and it does not make you invisible in every multiplayer situation.
How to buy a Steam game privately
Mark the game private from the Steam shopping cart before completing checkout. Steam introduced the feature in a December 2023 beta announcement and said it was generally available across desktop client, Steam Deck and mobile in March 2024. Menu wording and layout may change between client versions.
- Add the game to your Steam cart and open the shopping-cart page.
- Mark the game as private using the privacy option shown for that game in the cart.
- Complete checkout after confirming the private setting is selected.
Steam’s December 2023 announcement described private games as disappearing from places where someone other than the owner could view them. Its later support guidance gives the specific surfaces and exceptions.
How to make an owned game private
You can change privacy for a game already in your account without changing the visibility of the rest of your Library. Steam documents these routes:
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- Steam client: Open the game’s Manage menu by right-clicking its Library entry or using the gear icon on its details page, then choose the private option. Steam also documents the setting in the game’s Properties dialog under Privacy. The client must be online and connected to Steam for this option.
- Web browser: From the game list on your Steam Community profile, mark the game private.
The game remains yours and remains visible in your Library. Marking it private does not delete or uninstall it.
What other Steam users can see
According to Steam Support’s Private Games FAQ, a private game is treated for other Steam users generally as though you do not own it. Steam lists these effects:
- The game is omitted from your Community profile’s games list and recently played section.
- Friends do not see an “In Game” status for it in Friends List or chat, and game activity such as achievements or first-play notices does not appear in their activity feeds.
- The game does not appear in profile showcases, including achievement showcases.
- You are omitted from the Store’s “Friends who own this game” section, and a friend considering gifting it will not see you as already owning it.
- Steam Trading Cards are not received while the game is private.
- Other people on the same network cannot transfer the private game if you have enabled Local Network Game File Transfer for other users.
These are Steam’s documented Steam-side exclusions, not a promise of anonymity across the internet or removal of every trace outside Steam.
Can friends see what you are playing in multiplayer?
There are important exceptions. Steam says your Steam ID is visible to other players on the same server when you use Steam matchmaking. Also, if you invite a friend to join a game marked private, that friend can see your in-game status while joining; Steam says this can continue until you exit the game or disconnect from Steam.
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Private versus hidden in your Library
These controls affect different people. Private changes what other Steam users can see about one selected game, while the game remains in your Library. Hidden is a Library organization feature that removes the game from your own client game list; it does not mean the game has been made private to others.
| Steam control | Whose view changes? | Scope | What happens to the game? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark as private | Other Steam users | One selected game | Remains visible to you in your Library; Steam hides documented ownership and activity surfaces from others. |
| Hide in Library | You, in your Library client | One selected game | Removed from your client game list as an organization choice; this is not the per-game privacy setting. |
| Profile privacy | Other Steam users | Your profile and its applicable categories | Uses broader profile-wide visibility settings, rather than selectively privatizing one game. |
When to use profile-wide privacy settings
Steam separately offers profile visibility states of Public, Friends Only and Private, with additional categories. Those settings have broader scope than making a single game private; you do not need to change your whole profile to privatize one game. Steam explains the profile controls in its Steam Profile Privacy FAQ.
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Steam’s March 2024 announcement said private games were out of beta and available to everyone on desktop client, Steam Deck and mobile.
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