Is Steam down? Here’s how to check Steam’s server status

The biggest gaming hub might be experiencing problems.

Steam logo next to an image of its library.
Image via Valve

If you’ve been experiencing problems with using certain features or connecting to Steam, you’re not alone. Like many other online services, Valve’s platform occasionally experiences outages, server problems, and surges in traffic.

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These problems can impact user experience on the platform for everything from players just trying to play their games to actively looking to purchase new products. The platform sometimes has issues during its larger Steam sales, which generate a massive amount of user traffic as players try to get their hands on popular games while they are discounted.

Another recent example is the widespread report of user issues and errors popping up as soon as reservation periods or other updates regarding Valve’s new handheld system, the Steam Deck, are involved. Just minutes after the initial pre-orders went live, Steam users were met with long waiting times, error messages, and endless loading screens while attempting to place their orders. 

Most of the time, these outages are something players can’t resolve themselves, but you do have some options to check for potential reports that could provide insight into these issues.

How to check if Steam servers are down

A screenshot of a graph of Steam activity from the Downdetector website.
It’ll be easy to see when players are encountering issues. Screenshot by Dot Esports via Downdetector

You can check the Steam community hub, SteamStat.us, for specific status information including how many users are online, how different areas of the platform are performing, and more. SteamStat.us is an unofficial service that keeps an eye on how Steam is performing for users around the world and can help pinpoint exactly why a problem is occurring.

Downdetector is also a useful, if more general, resource for seeing if the problem is on your end or Valve’s, along with seeing if a spike in reports pops up at specific times.

Is Steam down?

Update, March 26, 5:37pm CT: As of this moment, Steam is down for its weekly Tuesday maintenance according to our own usage of the platform and SteamStat.us. Certain systems and segments of the platform are beginning to return. However, there seemed to have been a short malfunction an hour prior or so, which made many people question the state of Steam.

As most of Steam’s problems are on Valve’s end there usually isn’t much you can do besides waiting for traffic to slow down or for the servers to come back up. In the meantime, you can always try restarting Steam or your internet connection to see if it fixes the problem.

From our experience, if Steam goes down for weekly maintenance, it usually comes back up in a little under half an hour. Therefore, if you’re having some issues, just wait patiently and all should be sound again soon.

Author
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Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.
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Jerome Heath
Senior editor at Dot Esports. Jerome has been in and around the gaming industry for the last eight years, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
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Emily Morrow
Emily is a staff writer covering Apex Legends, Overwatch, Pokemon, and general gaming for Dot Esports. Her other bylines include Digital Trends, Screen Rant, and GameSpew. She also works as a narrative designer in games. Get in touch with her on Twitter @thepokeflute.
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Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.
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Nicholas Taifalos
Weekend editor for Dot Esports. Nick, better known as Taffy, began his esports career in commentary, switching to journalism with a focus on Oceanic esports, particularly Counter-Strike and Dota. Email: nicholas@dotesports.com