Steam Capsule Art Mistakes: What 794 Pages Get Wrong
The most common Steam capsule mistakes, measured: dark art, unreadable titles and wrong sizes. With brightness data from every page StoreCheck has checked.
By StoreCheck TeamPublished November 6, 20263 min readLive data: 794 pages
- 67% of Steam pages we've checked have at least one capsule problem.
- Pages in the top quarter by score have brighter capsules: 117/255 vs 93/255 on a 0–255 scale.
- Steam needs 8 different capsule and library images; the small capsule (462 × 174) is the one players see most.
- Text other than the game's name on a capsule is the most common reason Valve rejects store art.
Contents
Your capsule is the first thing a Steam shopper sees, and usually the only thing they see before deciding whether to click. It appears in search results at 120 × 45 pixels, in wishlists, in "More like this" rows and on the front page. Here are the mistakes we see most often across 794 pages, and how to avoid them.
| Problem | Share of pages |
|---|---|
| Contrast could be stronger | 34% |
| Muted palette | 22% |
| Capsule is darker than most | 18% |
| Most of the capsule is near-black | 13% |
| Large dark areas | 13% |
Mistake 1: art that's too dark
Steam's store is dark blue. A capsule built on night scenes, black backgrounds or moody lighting blends into it. On a 0–255 brightness scale, the top quarter of pages average 117/255, the other three quarters 93/255, and 10% of all pages have a capsule that is very dark at list size.
| Capsule brightness | Pages | Avg page score |
|---|---|---|
| Very dark (under 45) | 76 | 68 |
| Dark (45–70) | 140 | 75 |
| Medium (70–100) | 233 | 79 |
| Bright (100–130) | 156 | 80 |
| Very bright (130+) | 189 | 79 |
Dark games can still have bright capsules: light the character, add a rim light, or put the title on a lighter panel.
Mistake 2: a title you can't read small
At 120 × 45 only the title's shape and the main colours survive. Thin fonts, long subtitles and titles placed over busy art become noise. Make the logo the largest element on the small capsule, and check it at real size in a search list.
Free toolCapsule Preview in SteamYour capsule in search (120×45), wishlist, front page and library, next to your genre.→Mistake 3: one image stretched to every size
Steam asks for a header capsule (920 × 430), small capsule (462 × 174), main capsule (1232 × 706), vertical capsule (748 × 896), library capsule (600 × 900), library header, library hero (3840 × 1240) and an optional page background. Cropping one illustration to all of them cuts off logos and faces. Plan the key art with safe areas for each crop.
Free toolCapsule Sizes & ResizerEvery Steam image size; crop one image to all of them.→Mistake 4: marketing text on the capsule
Valve's rules allow only artwork, the game's name or logo, and an official subtitle on store capsules. Review scores, awards, "out now", discount text or quotes get pages sent back in review. The library hero is the reverse: art only, no logo.
Read nextSteam Store Page Review Rejected? The Common Reasons and FixesWhy Valve sends Steam store pages and builds back in review, the rules behind the most common notes, and a checklist to pass the next time.Mistake 5: not showing the genre
A capsule should answer "what kind of game is this?" in a second. Players scanning a list decide on genre first. Show the core verb (a weapon, a farm, a cockpit, a deck of cards) rather than an abstract mood piece. Player Jury's one-second genre test measures exactly this.
Free toolPlayer Jury testsReal players vote on your capsule, genre clarity, description or screenshot order.→Checklist before you upload
- Readable title at 120 × 45 and 231 × 87
- Brighter than the dark Steam background, with clear contrast between title and art
- Genre visible at a glance
- No text except the name or logo and official subtitle
- Each size cropped on purpose, not stretched
Get a free 0–100 score for your Steam page, measured the same way as the 794 pages behind this article, with the fixes ranked by impact.
Check my page freeLive benchmarks and real examples: see the data guide.
Questions
What size is a Steam capsule?
The header capsule is 920 × 430, the small capsule 462 × 174, the main capsule 1232 × 706, the vertical capsule 748 × 896 and the library capsule 600 × 900. The library hero is 3840 × 1240.
Can I put text on my Steam capsule?
Only the game's name or logo and an official subtitle. Review quotes, awards, prices and 'out now' text aren't allowed.
How bright should a Steam capsule be?
Brighter than you think. The best-scoring pages we've measured average about 117/255 on a 0–255 scale at list size.
- • Steamworks: graphical assets
- • Steamworks: asset rules
- • StoreCheck data: 794 Steam store pages, measured with methodology v1