Steam is the gaming marketplace that all gamers love. With so many titles from top-tier and indie developers trying to make a name for themselves, you can’t go wrong when you buy a Steam gift card.
Any gamer in your life will be happy with a Steam card.
But what can you do if you receive a Steam gift card? What are your options?
There are a lot.
1. Buy Games from Developers Across the World
If you want to buy and download games immediately, there’s no better marketplace than Steam. Steam is filled with the world’s best games, and all of the games are priced perfectly for sale.
A lot of games are discounted.
But the real sales happen a few times a year when Steam decides to offer their seasonal sales. You’ll be able to save tons of money on the world’s leading games.
It’s fun when you can save money.
There are special offers going on every day, and today you’ll find that the following games are discounted:
– Prison Architect is 75% off
– Dungeons is 70% off
– Running With Rifles is 75% off
That’s a lot of savings, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Tons of games go on sale every week, so you’ll be sure to find a game within your budget. When you’re on the site, you’ll also find that there are suggested curators that will be able to help you find a lot of great games to play.
It’s a good feeling when you’re reading reviews of games from some of the top video game critics in the world and can purchase the games immediately.
You’ll also find that unless you’re an avid gamer, there are going to be a lot of games that you have never heard of. Sometimes, you’ll even find games that are rarely mentioned online.
Does that mean that they’re bad games?
Absolutely not.
You’ll find a lot of great games under the following tabs on the site:
– New Releases
– Specials
And there is also a free games tag if you want to try out some of the best free games available. If you’re a gamer, Steam is guaranteed to have something for you to enjoy.
If you’re having trouble finding just the right game to purchase on Steam, there are lists of the best games to buy on Steam in 2019.
2. Buy Software with Your Steam Gift Card
Maybe you want to buy a Steam gift card online and use it to purchase software. We’ve all been there before, and it’s a great option. Steam does have its own selection of software you can purchase.
But the software collection is nowhere near as extensive as the company’s gaming catalog.
You’ll find that there are a few sorting options for software:
– New and trending
– Top selling
– What’s being used
You can also filter by a variety of different software categories, including:
– Animation & modeling
– Audio production
– Design & illustration
– Education
– Game development
– Photo editing
– Utilities
– Video production
– Web publishing
Many of the software options available are geared towards gaming and the gaming community. You’ll find that there’s RPG Maker XP, VoiceAttack and other software options available that will make your gaming experience better.
Featured bundles are also available, and these are great options that offer steep discounts on a variety of software.
Steam is working with software developers in several fields to try and flesh out their software packages. Some of these developers offer some pretty interesting options, but you’re not going to find a lot of high-end offers, such as Microsoft Word or the like available.
3. Send Digital Gifts to Friends or Loved Ones
Let’s assume that you buy a Steam gift card or you receive one for your birthday. You don’t have much time for gaming anymore, or you simply get tired of playing games by yourself. I find that gaming with friends is a lot more fun than gaming alone.
So, what can you do?
What’s really neat about Steam is that you’re able to “share the love.”
You see, Steam is meant to be played with others. Millions of people are on the platform, and it’s a great way for you to not only meet these people but also join them in games. Using the Steam platform, you’re able to digitally send anyone a gift.
I did this with Rocket League, and it was one of the best decisions I made.
If you’ve ever played Rocket League, you know how fun and addicting the game can be. Add in a friend, and the game becomes even better.
Steam allows you to send digital gifts to others, so it’s a great option if you’re feeling generous and want to be able to play games with friends. I am always sending my friends neat digital gifts.
4. Offer the Gift Card as a Gift
Perhaps you bought a Steam gift card, but don’t have plans to actually use it. You can always gift it to another person.
If you’re planning on buying a gift for a friend, there are a lot of ways to buy your Steam gift card online. You can even save some money in the process.
Sometimes, people simply want to offload their gift cards, so they’ll sell them to a gift card exchange.
You can save a lot of money doing this, and you may be able to gift someone a $50 gift card for as little as $40.
This is a great option for any gift card lovers that you may have in your family. Simply send them a gift card, and they’ll be more than happy. In fact, over 50% of people would rather have a gift card than a physical gift.
Why?
People are very picky. They’d rather choose their own gifts than have someone else pick something that they may not want.
I have had a lot of younger people (who I gladly give gifts to) ask me to return presents because they want something else. It’s actually easier to just buy gift cards at this point.
What about if a person prefers games? Good. Buy them a Steam gift card and let them go through the hassle of choosing their own games. It’s a lot easier than putting all of that effort into choosing a game for someone only to find out that they already own it or someone else bought them the same game.
5. Buy Actual Hardware
Steam does have hardware that you can purchase, and this is something that a lot of people don’t realize. Steam has two really great options for hardware that I want you to know about:
Steam Controller: The Steam controller is one of the best pieces of hardware that a person can install. When you use the Steam controller, you’ll be able to play your entire collection of Steam games right on your television. You can even play on televisions that haven’t been designed to use controllers. The great thing about the Steam controller is that it also has a lot of high-end features:
– HD haptic feedback
– Back grip buttons
– Customizable control schemes
– Dual-stage triggers
HTC Vive: A one-of-a-kind virtual reality platform, VIVE has been developed by Valve and HTC. You can use the platform to enter and explore virtual reality environments. You’ll blur the lines between reality and your imagination in a way that has never been possible before. The unit also comes with wireless controllers, so you’ll have complete control over the gaming experience.
But that’s all that the company is selling in the hardware department. I am really excited to see if they add anything new to this category in the future. Steam has a way of offering only the best-of-the-best, and the few hardware options that they offer will enhance a person’s gaming experience.
6. Join Millions of Users on Steam
Steam provides more than just games that a person can buy. You can also play with friends on the platform. And when you’re connected with friends on the platform, you have a community at your fingertips.
You can view a person’s profile and gaming catalog. You can connect with other gamers and even ask them to play games with you. If you want, you can also reach out to these gamers and talk to them in chat. As you can see, there is actually a lot that you can do on Steam to keep busy.
If you’re curious how many people are playing games, you can view the statistics on Steam itself.
Peak users are 14.8 million, while current concurrent Steam users is at 14.6 million. That’s a lot of people all playing games via Steam. The company’s platform is massive to say the least. And the top games that people have played today include:
– 855,000 people were playing DOTA 2
– 736,000 people were playing PUBG
– 547,000 people were paying CS:GO
And that is how many people were all playing at the same time. There are thousands of games to play at any time, so this is just a small snapshot of how many users will be available to play with.
If you’re not a member of the Steam community, you should seriously think about joining. There are a lot of great features and ways to connect with other users. I almost forgot to mention that users are able to rate and review all of the games that they play.
It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community and make your voice heard.
7. Exchange Your Gift Card for Another Option
If you buy a Steam gift card online or receive one from someone else, there’s no harm in exchanging it for another option. There are more than enough options available to help you exchange your card for something that you actually want to buy.
For example, you can always exchange your card for a Google Play or iTunes card.
You can also exchange your card for one of the many other gift cards that exist. When you do exchange gift cards, I want you to be absolutely safe when doing so.
This can be difficult.
A few of the recommendations that I have when exchanging gift cards is to:
– Always research who you plan on exchanging your card with. A lot of people opt to exchange cards with another person directly. Make sure that when you do this, there is some safety involved. The person may be giving you a depleted gift card or they may steal your digital code if that’s what is provided to them.
– Use third-party services to be able to exchange your gift card safely. A lot of third-party services will be able to ensure that the transaction goes along smoothly. If not, there may be some form of recourse, such as being able to receive a refund or have the other person banned from the platform.
Gift card exchanges are a lot of fun, and they allow you to make the most out of a gift card that you may not use. There’s also the great option of being able to purchase some cards at a discount and “flip” them for a higher price. You may come across a deal where you spend $40 on a $50 gift card, and then exchange the card for a $50 card that you actually want to use.
In either case, you’ll come out on top with a great gift card.
Steam gift cards offer much more than just the option to buy the world’s best games. When you use these gift cards, you’ll be able to join a community of other games. The community itself is impeccable, but there are also discounts on games and even hardware for sale.
All of it is available on Steam, and with millions of users, it’s a platform that is going to be around for decades.
