How to choose and apply tags that maximize your game's visibility in Steam's recommendation system.
Tags directly control where your game appears in Steam's ecosystem — search results, recommendation queues, "More Like This" sections, and genre pages. Wrong tags mean invisible game.
When a player browses "Roguelike Deckbuilders," your game only appears if it's tagged correctly. When the algorithm recommends games to someone who plays city builders, it uses tags to find matches. Tags are your primary discovery lever.
You can apply up to 5 tags when setting up your store page. These are weighted heavily, especially before launch.
Players can add tags to your game after release. Popular community tags get added to your game's tag profile. You can't remove community tags.
Tags are weighted by how many people applied them. Your developer tags start with weight, but community consensus can shift your tag profile over time.
Structure your 5 developer tags from broad to specific:
Research competitors: Look at successful games in your genre. What tags do they have? What tags bring up your target audience?
These define your core gameplay category and have the highest search volume.
More specific than genre, these help you reach targeted audiences.
Describe key mechanics and systems.
Setting, aesthetic, and mood.
Art style and presentation.
These tags hurt more than help: "Indie" and "Early Access" are automatically applied and don't help discovery. Don't waste your 5 slots on them.
Never apply tags that don't accurately describe your game. This leads to negative reviews from mismatched expectations, which hurts your algorithm placement.
Check what tags players are adding. If a consistent pattern emerges, it might reveal how players actually perceive your game (which may differ from your intent).
You can update your developer tags at any time by editing your store page. Community tags are controlled by player votes.