Gifting games on Steam to friends is a straightforward process, perfect for birthdays, holidays, or just because. If you’re wondering “How Do I Gift Games On Steam”, you’re in the right place. It’s a common misconception that gifting might be complicated, but Steam has made it user-friendly. Let’s clear up any confusion and walk you through the steps, and also touch upon a few scenarios where you might encounter a slight hiccup.
The standard method to gift a game on Steam is quite simple. When you’re on a game’s page that you wish to gift, look for the “Add to Cart” button. Clicking this will usually give you two options: “Purchase for myself” and “Purchase as a gift”. Selecting “Purchase as a gift” is your starting point. Steam will then guide you to choose a friend from your Steam friends list to send the game to. You can even schedule the gift to be sent on a specific date, add a personal message, and choose to send it via email if your friend isn’t directly on your Steam friends list. This way, gifting is integrated directly into the purchase process.
However, some users occasionally face situations where the gift option seems unavailable. This is often related to specific types of purchases, particularly bundles or games bought under certain promotional offers. Bundles, especially those offering a discount based on games you already own, might sometimes restrict gifting directly due to how the discount is applied at the account level. In these cases, the system might not automatically offer the gift option in the standard checkout process.
If you find yourself in a situation where the gift option isn’t immediately visible, there’s a potential workaround. Consider making the purchase while logged out of your Steam account, or even creating a separate, ‘dummy’ Steam account. By doing this, you’re essentially making a fresh purchase without any prior ownership flags influencing the transaction. This can sometimes bypass restrictions related to bundle discounts or promotional offers tied to account ownership, allowing you to purchase the game as a gift. Once purchased, you should then be able to gift it to your friend as intended. While this is a less common scenario, understanding this workaround can be helpful if you encounter gifting limitations on Steam.
In conclusion, gifting games on Steam is generally an easy and direct process. For most game purchases, the “Purchase as a gift” option is readily available at checkout. If you run into unusual situations with bundles or special offers, remember the workaround of purchasing outside your primary account to ensure you can still share the gaming fun with your friends.
