How to Add a Non-Steam Game to Steam

To add a non-Steam game to Steam, open the Steam desktop app, click Games in the menu bar, choose Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library, check the game in the list (or click Browse to find its .exe file), and click Add Selected Programs. The game then shows up in your Steam Library, and you can launch it with Play like any other game.

These steps are for the current Steam desktop client on Windows, and they match Valve’s Add Non-Steam Games guide. The same menu exists in Steam on Mac and Linux, and a separate section below covers Steam Deck.

Adding a game this way creates a shortcut in your library. It doesn’t buy the game on Steam, download it, or move its files. Updates, sign-in and online play still come from wherever you got the game, such as the Epic Games Store, EA app, Battle.net, Rockstar Games Launcher or a standalone installer.

Before You Start

• Install the game first. Steam can only add a program that’s already on your PC. A Rockstar title, for example, installs through its own launcher, as shown in the steps for downloading GTA Vice City on a Windows 11 laptop.
• Run it once on its own. Finish any first-run setup or launcher sign-in. If the game doesn’t start outside Steam, a Steam shortcut won’t fix it.
• Use the Steam desktop app. The Steam website and the Steam mobile app don’t have the Games menu.
• Know what an executable is. It’s the program file that starts the game. On Windows it ends in .exe. An installer such as setup.exe, an uninstaller, or a save file is not what you want.

Add a Non-Steam Game From Steam’s List

1. Open Steam on the PC where the game is installed and wait for it to finish loading.
2. Click Games in the menu bar at the top of the window.
3. Click Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library. A window opens listing programs Steam found on your PC.

4. Check the box next to the game. You can check several programs if you want to add more than one at a time.
5. Click Add Selected Programs. The window closes and Steam adds the game to your library.

6. Click Library, find the game in the list on the left (type its name in the search box if your library is large), and click Play.

If the right game opens, you’re done. You can also reach the same window from the Add a Game button at the bottom left of the Library, then Add a Non-Steam Game.

If you play with a PlayStation gamepad, first connect your PS4 controller to the PC so Steam Input can detect it.

Use Browse When Your Game Isn’t in the List

Steam’s list mostly shows programs with Start menu shortcuts, so games installed to a custom folder or another drive are often missing. You can still add them.

1. Click Games > Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library.
2. Click Browse. A file window opens.
3. Go to the game’s installation folder, such as D:\Games\ExampleGame.
4. Select the game’s .exe file and click Open. The program appears, already checked, in Steam’s list.
5. Click Add Selected Programs, then test the game with Play in your Library.

If the game requires its own launcher to run, pick the launcher’s .exe instead. Trying to skip a required launcher usually means the game opens and then closes, or never opens at all.

How to Find a Game’s .exe File in Windows

The quickest way is to use a shortcut that already works:

• Desktop shortcut: right-click it and choose Properties (on Windows 11 you may need Show more options first). The Target box on the Shortcut tab shows the full path to the .exe, and Open File Location opens its folder.
• Start menu: right-click the game and choose More > Open file location. If that opens a folder of shortcuts, right-click the shortcut there and check its Properties > Target.
• Launcher: most launchers show the install folder in the game’s settings or properties page.

If the Target box has extra text after the .exe path, such as -launch or -windowed, those are launch options. You can paste them into the game’s Steam entry by right-clicking it in the Library, choosing Properties, and adding them under Launch Options.

Games installed through the Microsoft Store or Xbox app often live in protected folders and may not have an .exe you can select. Don’t change Windows folder permissions to force it. Launch those games from the Xbox app instead.

Customize the Shortcut

Right-click the game in your Library and choose Properties to change how it appears and starts:

• Name: rename the entry, which helps when Steam picked up the launcher’s name instead of the game’s.
• Target and Start In: change which .exe Steam runs and from which folder, useful if you moved the game.
• Launch Options: add command-line options the game supports.
• Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game: turn the overlay on or off for this game only.

What Works and What Doesn’t

A non-Steam shortcut is just a launcher, so it gets some Steam features but not others.

Feature	Works with a non-Steam game?
Launch from your Steam Library	Yes
Steam overlay (Shift + Tab)	Usually, if the game supports it
Steam Input controller settings	Usually
Show friends what you’re playing	Yes, as a non-Steam game
Achievements, Steam Cloud saves, Workshop	No
Updates through Steam	No; the original launcher handles them
Appears on your other PCs	No; add it on each PC

If the overlay doesn’t open, check Steam > Settings > In Game and make sure Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game is on, then check the per-game setting in the game’s Properties. Valve’s Steam overlay help page covers the default Shift + Tab shortcut. If you want to play with a gamepad, connect your Xbox controller to the PC first.

Add a Non-Steam Game on Steam Deck

Steam Deck adds non-Steam games from Desktop Mode, as described in Valve’s Steam Deck Desktop FAQ.

1. Press the STEAM button and choose Power > Switch to Desktop.
2. Open Steam on the desktop. Press STEAM + X if you need the on-screen keyboard.
3. Click Add a Game at the bottom left of the Library, then Add a Non-Steam Game.
4. Check the program, or use Browse to find it, and click Add Selected Programs.
5. Double-click Return to Gaming Mode on the desktop. The game appears under Library > Non-Steam.

Steam Deck runs SteamOS, which is Linux. Windows games added this way may need Proton, Valve’s compatibility layer, which you can turn on by opening the game’s Properties > Compatibility and checking Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool. Not every Windows game or anti-cheat system works under Proton.

Troubleshooting

The game was added but I can’t find it

Search your Library for the name, and clear any filters or collections that hide games. If you added a launcher, the entry uses the launcher’s name. On Steam Deck, look in the Non-Steam tab.

Play opens an installer or the wrong program

You picked the wrong .exe. Close the installer without changing anything, remove the entry (see below), and add the game again using the Target path from a working shortcut.

The game opens and closes right away

Start the game the normal way. If it fails there too, repair it through its own launcher. If it only fails from Steam, check that its drive is connected, its launcher is signed in, and the shortcut’s Target and Start In paths still point to the right folder. A moved or reinstalled game needs a new shortcut.

How to remove a non-Steam game from Steam

Right-click the entry in your Library and choose Manage > Remove non-Steam game from your library. This removes only the shortcut. The game stays installed on your PC.

Frequently Asked Questions