# Steam Scraper — Games, Reviews & Player Counts (`cryptosignals/steam-scraper`) Actor

Extract Steam game listings and player data. Get game title, price, reviews, rating, genre, developer, release date, and current player count. Ideal for gaming market research and pricing analysis. PPE pricing — pay only for results.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/cryptosignals/steam-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Web Data Labs](https://apify.com/cryptosignals) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 13 total users, 2 monthly users, 97.1% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$10.00 / 1,000 result scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Steam Game Data Scraper

Extract comprehensive game data from the Steam Store — the largest PC gaming platform with 120M+ monthly active users and 70,000+ games. Search games, get detailed info, read user reviews, and check live player counts.

**No API key required.** Uses Steam's public store API endpoints directly — fast, lightweight, pure HTTP (no browser needed).

### What Data You Get

| Action | Data Returned |
|--------|--------------|
| **Search** | App ID, name, price, currency, free-to-play flag, platforms (Win/Mac/Linux), thumbnail |
| **Game Details** | Full metadata: descriptions, developers, publishers, pricing, discounts, genres, categories, release date, platforms, Metacritic score, review counts, age ratings, screenshots, movies, DLC list |
| **Reviews** | Review text, positive/negative sentiment, helpfulness votes, playtime at review, total playtime, author info, language, Steam purchase flag |
| **Player Count** | Current number of players online in real-time |

### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `action` | String | Yes | `"search"` | What to extract: `search`, `game-details`, `reviews`, or `player-count` |
| `query` | String | For search | `"portal"` | Search term for finding games |
| `appids` | Array | For details | — | List of Steam App IDs (e.g. `["570", "730"]`) |
| `appid` | String | For reviews/player-count | — | Single Steam App ID |
| `maxItems` | Integer | No | `20` | Max results to return (1–500) |
| `filter` | String | No | `"recent"` | Review filter: `recent`, `all`, `positive`, or `negative` |
| `language` | String | No | `"english"` | Language for reviews |

### Input Examples

#### Search for games

```json
{
    "action": "search",
    "query": "civilization",
    "maxItems": 10
}
```

#### Get details for multiple games

```json
{
    "action": "game-details",
    "appids": ["570", "730", "1174180"]
}
```

Common App IDs: Dota 2 (570), CS2 (730), Red Dead Redemption 2 (1174180), GTA V (271590), Elden Ring (1245620), Baldur's Gate 3 (1086940).

#### Get negative reviews only

```json
{
    "action": "reviews",
    "appid": "1091500",
    "maxItems": 100,
    "filter": "negative",
    "language": "english"
}
```

#### Check live player count

```json
{
    "action": "player-count",
    "appid": "570"
}
```

### Output Examples

#### Search Result

```json
{
    "appid": 289070,
    "name": "Sid Meier's Civilization VI",
    "price": 59.99,
    "price_currency": "USD",
    "is_free": false,
    "platforms": { "windows": true, "mac": true, "linux": true },
    "type": "app",
    "tiny_image": "https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/289070/capsule_sm_120.jpg"
}
```

#### Game Details

```json
{
    "appid": 570,
    "name": "Dota 2",
    "description": "Every day, millions of players worldwide enter battle as one of over a hundred Dota heroes.",
    "developers": ["Valve"],
    "publishers": ["Valve"],
    "price": 0,
    "price_formatted": "Free",
    "discount_percent": 0,
    "is_free": true,
    "genres": ["Action", "Free to Play", "Strategy"],
    "categories": ["Multi-player", "Online Multi-Player", "Steam Trading Cards"],
    "release_date": "2013-07-09",
    "platforms": { "windows": true, "mac": true, "linux": true },
    "metacritic_score": 90,
    "metacritic_url": "https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/dota-2",
    "recommendations": 2102329,
    "header_image": "https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/570/header.jpg"
}
```

#### Review

```json
{
    "recommendationid": "163842756",
    "author_steamid": "76561198012345678",
    "author_playtime_forever": 4523,
    "author_playtime_at_review": 3200,
    "language": "english",
    "review": "After 4500 hours I can say this game is okay I guess.",
    "voted_up": true,
    "votes_up": 342,
    "votes_funny": 128,
    "steam_purchase": true,
    "written_during_early_access": false,
    "timestamp_created": 1711900800
}
```

#### Player Count

```json
{
    "appid": 570,
    "name": "Dota 2",
    "player_count": 682431,
    "checked_at": "2026-03-28T14:30:00Z"
}
```

### Use with Python (apify-client)

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")

## Search for games
run = client.actor("cryptosignals/steam-scraper").call(run_input={
    "action": "search",
    "query": "survival crafting",
    "maxItems": 20,
})

for game in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    price = "Free" if game["is_free"] else f"${game['price']}"
    print(f"{game['name']} — {price}")
```

```python
## Get reviews for a game
run = client.actor("cryptosignals/steam-scraper").call(run_input={
    "action": "reviews",
    "appid": "1245620",
    "maxItems": 50,
    "filter": "recent",
})

for review in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    sentiment = "👍" if review["voted_up"] else "👎"
    hours = review.get("author_playtime_forever", 0) / 60
    print(f"{sentiment} ({hours:.0f}h played): {review['review'][:100]}...")
```

### Handling Bot Detection & Rate Limits

Steam's public API is generally permissive, but high-volume scraping can trigger temporary blocks:

1. **Built-in rate limiting** — the actor includes delays between requests to stay under Steam's thresholds
2. **Use proxies for high volume** — if scraping thousands of games or reviews, proxies help distribute load
3. **Residential proxies recommended** — for large-scale data collection, rotating residential IPs avoid IP-based throttling

For reliable residential proxies, I recommend [ThorData](https://thordata.partnerstack.com/partner/0a0x4nzh) — rotating residential IPs that work well for high-volume Steam data extraction.

### Limitations

- Steam API may return partial data for removed/delisted games
- Review pagination is limited by Steam's cursor-based API (max ~500 reviews per run for best results)
- Player count is a point-in-time snapshot — for historical data, schedule recurring runs
- Some regional pricing may vary based on the proxy/IP location used
- Rate limiting may occur on very high-volume runs without proxies

### Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on the actor's page or reach out through Apify's messaging system.

***

*Found this actor useful? [Leave a review](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/steam-scraper#reviews) - it helps a lot. Something broken? Report it on the [Issues tab](https://apify.com/cryptosignals/steam-scraper/issues).*

# Actor input Schema

## `action` (type: `string`):

What data to extract from Steam.

## `query` (type: `string`):

Search term for finding games (used with 'search' action).

## `appids` (type: `array`):

List of Steam App IDs for 'game-details' action. Find App IDs by searching first or from the Steam store URL (e.g., store.steampowered.com/app/570 → appid is 570).

## `appid` (type: `string`):

Single Steam App ID for 'reviews' or 'player-count' actions.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of results to return.

## `filter` (type: `string`):

Filter for reviews: recent, all, positive, or negative.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Language for reviews (e.g., english, spanish, french, german, japanese, schinese).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "action": "search",
  "query": "civilization",
  "appids": [
    "570",
    "730"
  ],
  "appid": "570",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "filter": "recent",
  "language": "english"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "action": "search",
    "query": "civilization",
    "appids": [
        "570",
        "730"
    ],
    "appid": "570",
    "maxItems": 20,
    "filter": "recent",
    "language": "english"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("cryptosignals/steam-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "action": "search",
    "query": "civilization",
    "appids": [
        "570",
        "730",
    ],
    "appid": "570",
    "maxItems": 20,
    "filter": "recent",
    "language": "english",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("cryptosignals/steam-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "action": "search",
  "query": "civilization",
  "appids": [
    "570",
    "730"
  ],
  "appid": "570",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "filter": "recent",
  "language": "english"
}' |
apify call cryptosignals/steam-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,cryptosignals/steam-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/R9qWWLphK21mIQMFj/builds/AFdNOqMYxgvIDDIXk/openapi.json