Guide:Ren'Py visual novels on Steam

Ren’Py Visual Novels on Steam: A Step-by-Step Guide
By Bob Conway (https://bobcgames.com)
With thanks to BaiYu / Project Ensō (https://projectenso.games/)
Created: August 11, 2021
Last Updated: March 26, 2024 (see Document Changelog)
Short Link to original version (may be more up-to-date): https://bit.ly/2VOH4vf

This is a step-by-step guide with screenshots for getting your Ren’Py based game onto Steam. (This guide can be used for non-Ren’Py games too. Just ignore the portions about Ren’Py.)

This guide assumes you have already registered as a Steamworks partner and purchased an app credit.

Please note: You will not be able to release your game on Steam until 30 days after purchasing an app credit, or two weeks after your game page goes live after undergoing Steam review and receiving approval, whichever is later. Please plan ahead.

This is a long document. You can either follow all of the steps roughly in order, or use this table of contents to jump directly to a section.

Table of Contents

Create the Steam App

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/App

• Create the App
• Some Terminology

Create Your Store Page

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Store_page

• Viewing Your Store Page
• Configure Basic Info
  • Search Keywords
  • Supported Platforms
  • Release Dates
  • Adult Content
  • Supported Features
  • Tags
  • Description
• Mature Content Settings
• Self-Rating Questionnaire
• Planned Release Date
• System Requirements
• 5 or More Screenshots
• Add a Trailer
• Capsule Images
• Library Images
• Community Images
• Client Icon
• Common Reviewer Complaints
• Submit Your Page For Approval

Upload Your Game to Steam

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Upload

• Removing 32-Bit Support for Windows (Optional)
• Setting up Archiving For Your Game (Optional)
• Installing Steam Libraries in Ren’Py
• Setting the Steam App Id (Optional)
• Making the Steam Build in Ren’Py
• Uploading the Game to Steam
• Build Configuration
• Debugging Build Configurations
• Fixing a Bad Upload (via Web UIs)
• Fixing a Bad Upload (via SteamPipe)
• I Ran My Game Before Re-Zipping and Uploading
  • Upload a Fixed Build
  • Reset All Game Progress
• Configuring Steam Cloud Saves
• Setting a Price
• Setting Supported Operating Systems
• Submit Your Game For Approval
• Provide Save Files to Steam Support

Add Achievements

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Achievements

• Create the Images
• Define the Achievement in Steam
• Unlock the Achievement in Your Game (in Ren’Py)
  • Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Achievements#Register Your Achievement in an Init Block
  • Grant Your Achievement During Gameplay
  • Display Achievements to Users (Optional)
• Achievement Stats
  • Register Your Stat in Steam
  • Add Your Stat in Your Game (Ren’Py)

Test Your Game

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Testing

• Before Release
  • Publishing the Build
  • For Yourself
  • With Others
  • Reminder: Ren’Py Automatically Shares Save Data on a Computer
• After Release

Add a Demo

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Demo

• Making the Steam Build in Ren'Py
• Create the Demo in Steam
• Create the Store Page
• Upload Your Demo to Steam
• Test Your Demo
• Release Your Demo

Create DLC

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/DLC

• Soundtracks
  • Assemble the Files
  • Create the Store Page
  • Upload the Files to Steam
  • Submit Your Soundtrack For Approval
• Other Types of DLC
  • Artbooks or Other Supplemental DLC
  • Additional Game Content DLC
  • Create the DLC in Steam
  • Create the Store Page
  • Upload the Files to Steam
  • Submit Your DLC For Approval

Create a Bundle

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/Bundle

• Create A New Bundle
  • Add the Bundle Items to the Bundle
  • Create the Store Page
  • Publish Changes and Release the Bundle

Create an Externally-Distributed Nudity Patch

Main article: Guide:Ren'Py_visual_novels_on_Steam/External_patch

• One Define to Rule Them All
• Handle All Images
• Handle All Text
• Handle Patch Versioning (Optional)
• Make The Clean Build
• Make a Lewd Project
• Make the Nudity Patch
• Test The Patch

TL;DR

Want to figure things out on your own, and just want to know the images and builds you have to make, or just want a checklist of images before tackling Steamworks configuration?

You must create the following assets for the Steam store page, community, and client:

• Five game screenshot images (hit the “s” key while playing to easily generate these) (details)
• One game trailer video (details)
• Four capsule images for the store (details)
  • A 460x215px header image, which will appear at the top of your store page and in other store views
  • A 231x87px small image, which will appear in search results and recommendations
  • A 616x353px main image that appears on the front page (and will probably never get used unless you are popular)
  • A 374x448px tall image that will also be used in the store
• Three images for players’ game libraries (details)
  • A 600x900px capsule image to represent your game in the large library view
  • A 3840x1240px header image to display (and scale) at the top of the game page in the library
  • A 1280x720px logo image to overlay on top of the header image above
• An image for the Steam community (details)
  • A 184x69px capsule image for wishlists
• An icon for the client distributable (details)
  • A 32x32px ico file, which can automatically generate the TGA and community image

You must create the following game build ZIP to upload:

• A “markets” game build created with a Steam-library-enabled Ren’Py (details)

You may optionally create the following assets for the Steam store page:

• A trailer screenshot image (as a loading placeholder for the trailer video) (details)
• A 1438x810px background image that will appear on your game page (details)

You may optionally create the following asset for the Steam community

• A 32x32px JPG for the community icon (which can be automatically generated from your ico file above) (details)

You may optionally create the following asset for the client

• A 16x16px TGA for the client icon (which can be automatically generated from your ico file above) (details)

You may optionally create the following assets for achievements:

• Two 256x256px JPG images for each achievement, representing the locked and unlocked states (details)

For more step-by-step guidance, read on.

(The above steps do not all apply for additive content such as a demo, DLC, a soundtrack, or bundles. Reference the appropriate sections for details.)

Document Changelog

• August 11, 2021 - Document first published
• August 26, 2021 - Added info on Fixing a Bad Upload (with thanks to Thugzilla)
• February 13, 2022 - Fixed some info on Achievement Stats
• March 27, 2022 - Added this changelog section, added I Ran My Game Before Re-Zipping and Uploading, added Create an Externally-Distributed Nudity Patch
• July 20, 2022 - Added additional SteamPipe and Ren’Py 8 references
• October 7, 2023 - Added link to Bob's Ren'Py Achievements Framework, SuperBiasedGary confirmed that stat achievements work
• March 26, 2024 - Added details about save file sharing in Provide Save Files to Steam Support, with thanks to Cyan

Suggestions and Contact Information

Bob welcomes suggestions, corrections, and additions to this document. You can reach him at bobcgames(at)gmail.com, from his website bobcgames.com, or on Mastodon as @bobcgames@peoplemaking.games.

However, he requests you do not contact him with questions relating to Ren’Py code, including questions about screen language, patch file creation, and achievement code. For such questions, he recommends the official Ren’Py Discord server.

If you found this guide useful, please consider supporting him by donating to YAGS on itch.io or picking up some YAGS swag.