• You can redeem a Steam code that you receive on gift cards through the Steam Store, and use their credit to purchase games.
  • Redeeming a Steam code puts the gift card’s dollar value into your Steam Wallet.
  • You can also use certain codes to activate games through Steam, adding them to your digital library automatically.
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Steam allows you to purchase gift cards, but because it’s an entirely online store, you have to activate the cards with a code first. Redeeming these codes in the Steam Store will add the monetary value of the card to your Steam Wallet, which you can then use to purchase games.

Steam also allows you to activate games through a code, which will add that specific game to your library. Activating gift cards is done through the Steam Store, but activating game codes is done from your Steam game library.

Here’s how to do both.

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Steam Gift Card (From $20 at Best Buy)

How to activate a Steam gift code

1. Go to this page on the Steam website, and make sure you’re logged in to the account you want to activate the code for.

2. In the box on the page, type in the code from your gift card, or copy and paste it into the text field if you received it digitally.

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Foto: When you're logged in, Steam will show your current wallet balance, and update it when the code is entered correctly.sourceRoss James/Business Insider

3. Steam will take a moment to verify the code, and once it does, the value of the gift card will be added to your Steam wallet.

Now when you go to buy a game, you'll be able to choose Steam Wallet as your payment method, and use this credit to pay for games.

How to activate a game code on Steam

1. At the bottom-left of your Library page, you'll see a plus symbol labelled "Add a Game." Click it, and then select "Activate a Product on Steam..."

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Foto: The plus symbol is found at the bottom-left of your Steam library.sourceRoss James/Business Insider

2. Steam will prompt you with its Subscriber Agreement. Click "I Agree," and then you'll be presented with a text field to input the game code. This is usually found on the inside of a physical CD case, or often on the back page of the game manual.

3. Some games will have a dedicated card with the code at the bottom. Be careful to check everything that came inside the case before throwing it away to make sure that you don't accidentally throw away the code.

4. Once you enter the code and click "Next," the game will begin downloading.

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