Products · Product
Steam
Raised as a usability problem by 318 people on Hacker News over 18 years (2009–2026), in 251 threads.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Must wait for Steam to open and log in before each launchUnreviewed
20092026- Has to download large updates and guess launch parameters before games will start2026-06-25
- Steam main window fails to open while Steam runs in background2025-10-12
- Every Steam window steals focus, making other apps unusable during slow startup2025-07-09
Client interface is slow and unresponsiveUnreviewed
20092026- Takes many seconds before the client can be interacted with after starting2026-10-16
- Client is so slow and sluggish on macOS that the user uninstalled it2026-10-15
- Client is slow and power hungry on macOS2025-07-09
Forced game updates block play and can't be postponedUnreviewed
20092026- Must wait for Steam to install frequent game updates before playing2026-01-22
- Forced automatic updates break modded games and are a pain2025-08-15
- Games blocked offline until Steam re-authenticates or forces a large update first2025-08-15
Hard to discover new games amid the storefront's overwhelming selectionUnreviewed
20092026- Valuable games are hard to find amid flood of releases2026-06-13
- Storefront makes it basically impossible to discover new games2022-11-28
- Must google a game's name to find its store page, since right-click no longer leads there2022-09-23
Streaming lags unpredictably and game launch shrinks the visible screen areaUnreviewed
20092026- Game fails to start streaming, and when it does, it often lags badly2026-07-20
- Streamed display resolution is a coin toss, and game launchers are hard to use from a controller2026-06-26
- Streaming lags for no obvious reason and game launch shrinks visible screen area2026-06-25
Store and profile pages take many seconds to loadUnreviewed
20092026- Store page pictures and videos load insanely slowly on PC, unlike other Steam pages2025-07-18
- Inventory pages won't load and listing items on the market takes minutes each2023-05-08
- Store, library and inventory are slow to open and switch between2018-06-01
Precise, quick aiming on a trackpad is hardUnreviewed
20092026- Trackpad performs worse than analog stick, hard to use for games2025-11-13
- Trackpad lacks precision for play; directional buttons need excessive force to press2023-07-04
- Hard to make precise, quick aiming motions on the trackpad, unlike a mouse2013-10-12
Controller input goes to Steam UI instead of the gameUnreviewed
20092026- Steam store can't be navigated with a controller; many items can't be moved to or selected2025-11-13
- Steam interface disappeared, leaving a remote desktop with laggy controller input2023-11-09
- Steam button mouse controls stop working quickly and holding the Xbox button turns off the controller2023-07-04
Minimum window size exceeds small high-DPI laptop screensUnreviewed
20092026- Couldn't tap the Steam Guard button because the screen was too small2025-10-02
- Steam window's minimum size exceeds small high-DPI laptop screens, making UI unusable2023-04-10
- Steam window stays too large, so parts are offscreen on a 7-inch display2021-01-27
Overlay pop-up intrudes every time a game launchesUnreviewed
20092026- Constant popups for announcements and friend activity interrupt the user right after install2020-08-18
- Steam ad popups look like Windows notifications, so users can't tell the source2019-03-15
- Steam overlay pop-up intrudes every time a game launches, unwanted2018-12-05
Reinstalling deletes downloaded games and saves, forcing re-downloadsUnreviewed
20092026- Each Linux account needs its own Steam install and duplicate game downloads2025-11-13
- Reinstalling Steam deletes downloaded games and saves, forcing long re-downloads2016-02-24
- Games from Steam (Ubisoft titles) are strict about reinstalling, discovered only after purchase2012-06-05
Client search is bad, making games hard to findUnreviewed
20092026- Store search is terrible and hard to find things with2023-11-23
- Steam's search and interface are awful and confusing to use2022-02-22
- Search in the Steam client is surprisingly bad, making it hard to find games2019-11-21
Separate account per game is too inconvenient to set upUnreviewed
20092026- Games locked to one account, so only one computer can play at a time2023-05-08
- Must create separate accounts on publisher sites after buying a game on Steam2022-09-22
- Making a separate account for each game was too inconvenient to set up2013-01-20
Text unreadable on high-resolution monitors because DPI settings are ignoredUnreviewed
20092026- Font scaling in the Steam app requires a lot of trouble to adjust2023-04-24
- Text is unreadable on a high-res monitor because Steam ignores DPI settings2020-04-02
- Font size can no longer be adjusted, so text is hard to read on high-DPI monitors2016-09-06
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Doing app store tasks manually in the Steamworks UI is harder than using the command line2026-10-28
- Passthrough camera view is so poor it's borderline unusable2026-10-21
- Takes many seconds before the client can be interacted with after starting2026-10-16
- Store page videos stutter and fail to play smoothly, so users scroll to gifs instead2026-10-15
- Client is so slow and sluggish on macOS that the user uninstalled it2026-10-15
- Steam is slow and heavy on resources, so users disable features to speed it up2026-10-15
- Can't tell which DLC is enabled for a game, which the commenter calls bad2026-10-15
- Two similar top bars and too many places for settings, confusing to navigate2026-10-15
- Context menus randomly stop working on Linux, forcing use of Big Picture mode2026-10-15
- Web pages show blank on first click, needing repeated clicks to load2026-10-15
- Takes seven seconds to load and shows a popup that must be closed2026-10-15
- Approval prompt disappears and it's unclear where to find login codes in the app2026-10-07
- Thumbstick easily hits up arrow by accident; modifier shortcuts need manual definition2026-09-18
- Client is slow to start, cluttered with ads, and inconsistent2026-07-21
- Game fails to start streaming, and when it does, it often lags badly2026-07-20
- Unusable for games needing real-time response, even on wired connections2026-07-20
- Dead Island 2 takes 12 minutes to launch the first time2026-07-18
- Updates interrupt play when the user wants to start a session2026-07-07
- Popular couch co-op games like Overcooked don't work or need hours of configuration2026-06-26
- Can't wake PC with controller, must manually switch TV input and fight display settings2026-06-26
- Onscreen keyboard sometimes opens then immediately closes in Firefox, forcing app restart2026-06-26
- Streamed display resolution is a coin toss, and game launchers are hard to use from a controller2026-06-26
- Unlocking Windows, getting stuck screens, and fixing audio or HDR requires walking to the desktop2026-06-26
- Streaming lags for no obvious reason and game launch shrinks visible screen area2026-06-25
- Has to download large updates and guess launch parameters before games will start2026-06-25
- Must manually fiddle with settings to get streaming to work, wasting hours2026-06-23
- Password reset gets stuck after captcha completion on every device2026-06-23
- Hard to tell which settings are under the left versus right button menu2026-06-23
- Streaming feels clunky: switching resolution and losing settings is tedious2026-06-22
- Non-interactive installer wipes the entire disk with no option to keep other OSes2026-06-18
- Valuable games are hard to find amid flood of releases2026-06-13
- UI is slow to react to input because of its web roots2026-06-07
- Steam's interface feels slow and unresponsive to interact with2026-06-07
- Needs fiddling to enable hardware rendering; software rendering is very laggy2026-05-14
- No easy way to disable some overlays2026-04-15
- Play button flips to Stop then silently reverts, so the game never starts2026-04-02
- Steam chat app is described as terrible, plus a Linux UI bug caused lag2026-03-25
- App is slow, full of ads, and has a complex UI2026-03-25
- Steam kept the same UI for over 15 years before adding different library views2026-03-25
- Birth year must be picked from a drop-down; typing the year doesn't work2026-03-23
- Can't figure out how to access group chats outside the Steam client2026-02-10
- Must wait for Steam to install frequent game updates before playing2026-01-22
- Big Picture and streamed games are very laggy, and some games show a black screen2026-01-04
- Some Steam menus don't work when hover-click accessibility setting is enabled2025-12-31
- On-screen Xbox button prompts mismatch the Switch controller layout, causing confusion2025-12-28
- Mac Steam games only run through a tricky Wine workaround that breaks and lags2025-12-24
- Store ads show when launching, and the setting to turn them off is buried2025-12-05
- Can't find which Linux distributions Steam officially supports on its website2025-11-20
- Store frontend breaks often in very surprising ways2025-11-13
- Each Linux account needs its own Steam install and duplicate game downloads2025-11-13