Steam backgrounds and how to set them

Steam backgrounds are the images behind your profile page, and along with your avatar they are the main way to personalize how your profile looks to other people. You get them from trading card drops, the Points Shop, and the Community Market, and higher Steam levels unlock animated versions and extra showcase slots. This guide covers how to set a background and avatar, where they come from, and what unlocks as you level up. For a full set of style ideas, our Steam profile ideas guide is a good companion.

How to change your Steam profile background

Setting a background takes about a minute, and it is done from the same place you edit everything else on your profile.

1. Open Steam and go to your profile.
2. Click Edit Profile.
3. Scroll to Profile Background (or the Theme and background section).
4. Pick from the backgrounds you own in the dropdown or grid.
5. Changes save on their own. There is no separate save button to hunt for.

You can only choose backgrounds you actually own. If the list looks short, that is because you have not collected any yet, which the next section explains how to fix.

How to change your Steam avatar

Your avatar is the small profile picture, and it is set on the same Edit Profile screen.

1. From Edit Profile, find the Avatar section.
2. Choose one you own from the Points Shop or a game, or upload your own image.
3. For an uploaded picture, use a square image so it does not get cropped oddly.
4. Save, and the new avatar appears across Steam, in chat, comments, and your friends' lists.

You can upload a custom static avatar for free. Animated avatars, on the other hand, come from the Points Shop or games, since Steam does not let you upload your own animated file as an avatar.

Where backgrounds and avatars come from

There are three main sources, and it helps to know which is which.

• Trading card drops. When you craft a badge from a card set, you often get a profile background or an emoticon as a bonus. These are free byproducts of playing and crafting. See our Steam trading cards guide for how that works.
• The Points Shop. You spend Steam Points, earned from purchases, on avatars, animated avatars, frames, and animated backgrounds. Our guide on what are Steam points covers earning them.
• The Community Market. You can buy and sell profile backgrounds like any other item. Rare or popular backgrounds trade for more, common ones for a few cents.

Because backgrounds are tradeable items, you are not stuck with what drops for you. If you want a specific one, the market almost certainly has it.

Animated and showcase options at higher levels

The fancier customization is gated behind your Steam level, which is why people grind badges.

• Animated backgrounds. These moving backgrounds mostly come from the Points Shop. Anyone can buy them, but they pair best with the extra showcase space that higher levels unlock.
• Showcases. Reaching certain Steam levels unlocks profile showcase slots, where you can feature artwork, your favorite game, your rarest badge, or an animated artwork showcase.
• Animated avatars and avatar frames. Both come from the Points Shop and give your profile a moving look that a plain uploaded picture cannot match.

If you want to raise your level to unlock more showcases, badges are the engine, and our Steam level calculator shows how much XP you need. Curious how another person built their profile? Our Steam profile viewer lets you look up any public profile.

What the community does

On the Steam forums, a frequent question is how to preview a background or avatar before spending Points on it. The practical tip that comes up in the "animated profile background as animated showcase" discussion is to preview items from the Points Shop on your own profile first, since the preview shows exactly how it will look before you commit any Points. Users also point out that free card-drop backgrounds are an easy way to decorate a profile without spending anything, so there is no need to buy your way to a good-looking page.

FAQ

How do I change my Steam profile background? Go to your profile, click Edit Profile, open the Profile Background section, and pick a background you own. It saves automatically.

Can I upload my own Steam background? No. Profile backgrounds must be ones you own from card drops, the Points Shop, or the market. You can, however, upload your own static avatar image.

Where do I get profile backgrounds for free? Crafting badges from trading card sets often drops a background as a bonus, which costs nothing beyond the cards.

How do I get an animated background or avatar? Buy them in the Points Shop using Steam Points, which you earn from purchases. Animated items cannot be uploaded manually.

What unlocks at higher Steam levels? Higher levels unlock more profile showcase slots, including artwork and animated artwork showcases, which give you more room to customize.

Can I sell a background I do not want? Yes. Profile backgrounds are tradeable items, so you can list them on the Community Market or trade them to another player.