Steam Capsules: Clear Preview Marks at 1232×706, Not the Old 616 Size

The store page is waiting on a stamp

Steamworks’ graphical-assets overview (updated August 2024) lists required store sizes: header capsule 920×430, small capsule 462×174, main capsule 1232×706, vertical capsule 748×896. Old half-size uploads are no longer accepted. Library needs a 600×900 capsule, a 3840×1240 hero PNG, a logo up to 1280 wide or 720 tall, and a 920×430 library header. Indie teams still have the only approved character keyart with a contractor “PREVIEW” bug across the cape. Reopening the PSD is ideal. Reality is a flattened 1920×1080 in Drive while the checklist is Friday. The job is to erase the stamp on art you paid for, then crop the Steam pack — not to lift another studio’s keyart, and not to tour every cleanup tool.

Paint the mark; keep the silhouette

Upload the licensed JPEG or PNG to watermark removal. Brush only the logo-shaped or semi-transparent overlay — studio bugs, ArtStation export badges, “PREVIEW” ribbons. Zoom to 100% on painted armor and sky. You want the original brushwork, not a plastic patch. Do not brush the character lockup you will keep. A typed build number is lettering; route that after the mark. Mixing type and logo in one stroke is why a cheek still shows a yellow smear. If auto ate a letter of the title treatment, you need the layered file, not a second pass.

Before After

Size versus the 10MB cap

Work from the largest clean master you have, then crop. Uploads here accept JPG, PNG, WebP, or AVIF up to 10MB and 6000×6000 px. A 2400 px JPEG under 4MB typically returns in under 60 seconds. A 3840×1240 library hero PNG can exceed 10MB; flatten or JPEG that crop after cleanup, or run the stamp pass on a smaller master and composite back in the art tool. Screenshots for the store page are a different asset: Steam wants at least 1920×1080, 16:9. Do not stretch a stamped concept still into a screenshot slot. Name files `keyart-clean.png` versus `keyart-preview-original.jpg`.

Capsules are crops, not new paintings

Small capsule 462×174 must keep a readable logo even at the tiny sizes Steam generates from it. Do not reconstruct a stamp that sat on the logo; relink the vector. Main 1232×706 is the featured carousel size. Header 920×430 is the store hero strip. Vertical 748×896 is a different composition — do not stretch the main capsule. Library hero 3840×1240 is artwork without marketing type in Steam’s note; letter event copy with Artwork Overrides that expire, not by baking “NEXT FEST” into the hero.

Rights and Valve-shaped problems

Only edit art you commissioned, own, or are licensed to ship. Clearing a preview stamp on work you paid for is pipeline. Lifting another studio’s keyart is not. If the contract required a credit, reconstruction will not create a waiver — ask for a clean export. Skip marks that cover most of a face or sit on heavy JPEG blocking. A second auto pass will not invent pores in painted skin.

Store checklist habit

Keep untitled masters. Seasonal promo lines belong in Artwork Overrides, not in reconstructed enamel. When the checklist is green and last week’s preview badge is still on the armor, clear the stamp, crop 1232×706 and the rest of the pack, and ship art that matches the build.

What not to “fix” in the illustration

Do not reconstruct a gun, a UI mock, or a character you did not approve. Isolation of a stamp is ops. Changing the game’s look is a design review. When the capsule deadline is Friday and the only file still says PREVIEW, clear the bug and crop to current Steamworks sizes — not the retired 616×353.

Small capsule is a logo test

Steam generates even smaller sizes from 462×174. Squint at 184×69. If the reconstructed patch sits where the wordmark was, you will fail the “readable logo” note on the small capsule. Relink vectors. Do not reconstruct title type in this tool.

Library hero has no marketing sentence

Steamworks says the 3840×1240 hero is artwork. Event lines belong in Artwork Overrides that expire. Baking “NEXT FEST” into the hero is why you will fight this file again in November. When the checklist is green and PREVIEW is still on the cape, clear the stamp and crop to 1232×706 and the rest of the current pack — not 616×353.

Press kit versus store

A journalist PDF can use the same cleaned master at 1920 on the long edge. Do not send a stamped ArtStation export. If the contract required a credit line, put it in the PDF text, not as a reconstructed bug. When the page is ready and the cape still wears PREVIEW, clear the mark and export 1232×706 from a master you own.

When the page is otherwise ready and the cape still wears a studio bug, clear the mark and export the 1232×706 main capsule from a master you actually own.