A Steam gift can arrive as a notification, an email, or a code, and each uses a different route to claim it. Start with the type you received, then use the matching steps below to add the game or funds to your account.
Accept a game gift in the Steam client
Sign in to the Steam account that received the gift. Acceptance attaches the game to that account, so check that you are using the intended recipient account before continuing.
Open the notification labeled 1 New Gift.
Select Accept Gift. Steam adds the game to your library.
You have 30 days to accept an ordinary delivered game gift. Claim it within that window.
Use the redemption link when your gift arrives by email
The email route lets you accept a game gift on Steam’s website without installing the desktop client.
Open Steam’s gift-delivery email. For scheduled game gifts, the email arrives on the scheduled delivery date.
Follow the redemption link in the email.
Sign in to the intended recipient’s Steam account.
Accept the gift to add the game to that account’s library.
Gifts sent directly to an email address, including guest-checkout gifts, also use an email redemption link. Follow that link and sign in to your Steam account to accept the gift. An email address already associated with a Steam account works too.
Direct email-address gifting supports both games and digital gift cards. The purchaser and recipient must live in the same country, including when the purchaser sends the gift without a Steam account.
Direct email-address gifts cannot be scheduled and are automatically refunded if left unaccepted for 30 days.
Claim a digital Steam Gift Card
A digital gift card sent through Steam needs acceptance before its funds enter your Steam Wallet.
Open the redemption link in the gift email or the gift notification on your Steam account.
Sign in to the Steam account that should receive the funds.
Complete acceptance to add the funds to your Steam Wallet.
The email link and account notification are both entry points for accepting a digital gift card. This type of gift credits your Wallet rather than adding a game to your library.
Redeem a physical gift card or Wallet code
Open Steam’s Redeem a Steam Gift Card or Wallet Code page.
Select SIGN IN to access your account, or Create Your Account if you need an account.
Redeem your code using the signed-in form.
Use this form for a Wallet code; use the gift email or notification for a digital gift card sent through Steam.
Activate a gifted game key
An unused Steam product key uses product activation. To activate it in the desktop client, sign in to the account that should receive the game.
Select Games > Activate a Product on Steam....
Enter your key and complete the activation prompts.
Another desktop entry point is Add a Game at the bottom left of the Steam client. Select it, then choose Activate a Product on Steam....
Enter the game key and select Confirm.
For browser activation, open Steam’s product activation page and sign in. Enter the game key and complete activation.
Add an eligible inventory gift to your library
Eligible older gifts and extra copies still support inventory redemption; Steam retired Gift to Inventory for new purchases, which use direct gift acceptance.
This route applies to eligible game gifts or extra copies received through trading. Pre-existing inventory gifts were exempt from the change that ended inventory storage for new ordinary gift purchases.
Sign in to your Steam account.
Open the profile-name menu and select Inventory.
Select the game gift.
Click Add to my Library….
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone send me a Steam gift without having a Steam account?
Yes. Guest checkout supports games and digital gift cards sent directly to an email address. The purchaser and recipient must live in the same country.
Is there another desktop shortcut for activating a gifted game key?
Yes. SEGA documents selecting Add a Game at the bottom left of the Steam client, then Activate a Product on Steam.... Enter the game key and select Confirm.