🚀 SteamWS — Steamworks, Built the Unreal Way

SteamWS is a native Steamworks integration for Unreal Engine with extensive Blueprint and C++ access, It includes its own Steam-specific Online Subsystem implementation, built on Unreal Engine’s standard online framework, modern Steam networking and a complete set of editor tools.

Required Unreal Engine plugins: OnlineBase, OnlineSubsystem, and OnlineSubsystemUtils. They are included with Unreal Engine and enabled automatically when SteamWS is enabled.

What makes SteamWS different is its asset-driven workflow.

Achievements, stats, leaderboards, inventory definitions, Workshop items and publishing settings can be created as Unreal assets. Reference them directly in Blueprints instead of entering API names, ItemDef IDs and other identifiers manually throughout your project.

SteamWS does not depend on SteamCore or OnlineSubsystemSteam and does not require modifications to Unreal Engine source code.

✅ Key Features

✔️ Blueprint-first access across Steamworks interfaces

✔️ Public C++ integration API

✔️ SteamWS Online Subsystem

✔️ Asset-based achievements, stats and leaderboards

✔️ Advanced Steam Inventory authoring

✔️ Friends, avatars, presence and game invitations

✔️ Lobbies, matchmaking and multiplayer sessions

✔️ Steam Networking Sockets, Messages and P2P relay

✔️ Voice and microphone support

✔️ Workshop and UGC integration

✔️ Remote Storage and Steam Cloud

✔️ Steam Input support

✔️ Authentication, ownership and encrypted ticket APIs

✔️ Steam overlay and external UI

✔️ SteamPipe and SteamCMD workflow tools

✔️ Built-in validation, diagnostics and documentation

✔️ Windows 64-bit and Linux x86-64 support

🎯 Asset-Driven Steamworks

Create SteamWS assets directly from Unreal Engine’s Content Browser using the native right-click menu.

Supported asset workflows include:

• Achievements and achievement sets

• Achievement icon styles

• Stats

• Leaderboards

• Inventory projects and items

• Inventory rarities, tags and slots

• Inventory pricing and presentation

• Inventory dynamic properties

• Inventory recipes and collections

• Workshop items

• Publishing profiles

Asset-aware Blueprint nodes accept these references directly. Unlock an achievement, update a stat, access a leaderboard or request an inventory item without repeatedly typing identifiers as strings.

Reusable inventory assets make larger item catalogs easier to maintain. Shared rarities, pricing rules, visual definitions, tags, dynamic properties and recipes can be authored once and reused across multiple items.

🛠️ SteamWS Control Center

SteamWS includes a dedicated editor workspace for setting up and managing Steam integration.

The Control Center provides:

• Guided App ID and project configuration

• Steamworks SDK and runtime checks

• Achievement Manager

• Stats Manager

• Inventory Manager

• Leaderboard Manager

• Workshop Manager

• Local and Steam definition comparison

• Import and synchronization tools

• Schema and manifest export

• SteamPipe manifest generation

• SteamCMD upload output

• Project diagnostics

• Release-readiness reports

• Integrated documentation

The validation system detects missing identifiers, duplicate definitions, invalid references, icon problems, unsupported values and local-versus-Steam mismatches before release.

🎮 Blueprint-Accessible Steam Interfaces

• Apps and DLC

• Friends

• HTML Surface

• HTTP

• Input

• Inventory

• Matchmaking

• Matchmaking Servers

• Music

• Networking

• Networking Messages

• Networking Sockets

• Networking Utilities

• Parties

• Parental Settings

• Remote Play

• Remote Storage

• Screenshots

• Timeline

• UGC and Workshop

• User

• User Stats

• Utilities

• Video

Asynchronous operations use typed results, clear success and failure outputs, timeout handling and centralized callback lifetime management.

🔧 SteamWS Online Subsystem

SteamWS includes its own Unreal Online Subsystem compatibility layer.

Supported subsystem interfaces include:

• Achievements

• Cloud

• External UI

• Friends

• Identity

• Leaderboards

• Presence

• Sessions

• Stats

• Store

• User

• Voice

Projects can use the SteamWS Blueprint API directly, use the Online Subsystem layer, or combine both approaches.

🌐 Multiplayer and Networking

SteamWS provides support for:

• Steam lobbies

• Friend invitations

• Session discovery

• Listen-server connections

• Steam P2P relay

• Direct networking

• Networking Sockets

• Networking Messages

• Connection status callbacks

• Authentication tickets

• Ownership verification foundations

• Server browser queries

The networking APIs use Steam’s modern networking interfaces rather than relying only on legacy P2P functions.

📦 Inventory and Economy Workflow

SteamWS provides an Unreal-native authoring system for Steam Inventory ItemDefs.

Create reusable inventory definitions, validate relationships, compare local assets with Steam, import existing definitions and export Steam-compatible ItemDef JSON.

Supported workflows include:

• Normal items

• Bundles

• Generators

• Playtime generators

• Exchange recipes

• Promotional items

• Store pricing

• Tradable and marketable properties

• Dynamic item properties

• Tags and tag generators

• Localized names and descriptions

• Icon and presentation configuration

• Reusable rarity and visual profiles

• Item definition revision comparison

SteamWS keeps Unreal-only authoring data separate from the final Steam-compatible export.

📚 Documentation and Examples

The plugin includes:

• Getting Started guide

• Asset authoring guide

• Blueprint recipes

• Blueprint style guide

• Generated Blueprint node reference

• Compile-verified Blueprint showcase

• Online Subsystem documentation

• Security guidance

• SteamPipe and publishing documentation

• Troubleshooting guide

• Steamworks API inventory

Documentation can be opened directly inside Unreal Editor through the SteamWS documentation viewer.

Product Support

Support: [email protected]