How to Stream Games on Steam: Remote Play, Steam Link & Broadcasting

📡 "Streaming games on Steam" means at least three different things, and confusing them is exactly why most people give up on it halfway through setup. Do you want to play your own library on your TV, hand the controller to a friend on the other side of the world, or show your gameplay to an audience? Each has a different name, a different tool, and a different setup. Here's how each one works and when to use it.

Streaming Your Own Games to Another Device

Steam Remote Play

Remote Play is the technology built into the Steam client that streams a game running on your PC to another screen in real time. Your gaming PC does all the actual processing; the other device just displays the video and sends your input back. This is what lets you install a game once on a powerful desktop and still play it from a laptop, phone, or TV elsewhere in the house.

Steam Link

Steam Link is the app you install on the receiving device — smart TVs, phones, tablets, and dedicated streaming boxes — to connect to Remote Play. To set it up:

1. Make sure Steam is running on your gaming PC and you're signed in.
2. Install the Steam Link app on the device you want to stream to.
3. Open Steam Link and pair it with your PC (same Wi-Fi network for the best experience).
4. Launch any game from your library through the Steam Link interface.

For the smoothest experience, connect your PC via Ethernet if possible, and keep the receiving device on a strong Wi-Fi connection.

Remote Play Together and Remote Play Anywhere

• Remote Play Together lets you invite friends into local co-op or split-screen games over the internet — only you need to own the game, since it streams to your friends' screens directly.
• Remote Play Anywhere extends Remote Play beyond your home network, so you can stream your library to your own devices (or a friend's, with an invite) from anywhere with a good enough connection.

Both are built into Steam and don't require extra software — just a Steam account and a stable connection on both ends.

Broadcasting Steam Gameplay to Viewers

Streaming can also mean broadcasting your gameplay live for others to watch. Steam supports this in two ways:

Steam Broadcasting

Steam's built-in Broadcasting feature lets you go live directly to friends or the Steam Community from inside the client, with no extra setup. It's a low-friction way to share a session, but it's limited compared to dedicated streaming platforms in terms of audience reach and features like chat overlays or highlight clips.

Third-party streaming software

For streaming to platforms like Twitch or YouTube, most players use dedicated software such as OBS Studio or Streamlabs. These tools capture your Steam game window (or full desktop) and encode it for the platform of your choice. These tools give you far more control — scene switching, webcam overlays, chat integration — than Steam's native broadcasting.

Basic setup checklist for broadcasting:

• A stable upload connection (this matters more than download speed for streaming quality).
• Streaming software configured with your target platform's stream key.
• A capture source set to your game, with resolution and bitrate matched to your upload speed.
• A test stream before going live, to catch audio sync or performance issues early.

Nobody unsubscribes over a slightly lower bitrate. People do leave over stuttering audio. If you have to compromise somewhere in your settings, protect audio quality first.

Convenience vs. Control

Steam's own tools and third-party software solve the same broad problem — getting your gameplay somewhere else — but they trade off convenience against control in opposite directions. Remote Play and Steam Broadcasting both work the moment you're signed into Steam, with no extra accounts, downloads, or configuration, which is exactly why they're the right call for a quick session with one friend or a spontaneous watch party. OBS Studio and Streamlabs ask for more setup — a stream key, a capture source, scene layouts — but that setup is what buys you chat overlays, webcam integration, and a real audience on Twitch or YouTube. In practice, the deciding factor isn't which tool is "better," it's whether the audience you're streaming to already exists inside Steam or lives on a platform outside it.

Choosing the Right Option

Try It With Lokko

Lokko is available on Steam, so it works with all of Steam's streaming features out of the box. Stream your own created levels to a TV with Steam Link, invite a friend into a co-op session with Remote Play Together, or broadcast your level-building process to viewers.

Get Lokko on Steam

Haven't picked what to play yet? Start with our roundup of new Steam games worth adding to your wishlist.

Key Takeaways

• Steam Remote Play is the streaming technology; Steam Link is the app you use on the receiving device to play through it.
• Remote Play Together lets friends join local co-op games online without owning the game themselves; Remote Play Anywhere extends streaming outside your home network.
• Steam's built-in Broadcasting is the quickest way to share gameplay with friends, while OBS Studio or Streamlabs are better for full live streaming to Twitch or YouTube.
• Upload speed matters more than download speed for broadcasting quality — test your stream before going live.
• Lokko is available on Steam and supports all of these streaming options like any other Steam library game.