Steam Game Development with Claude Code: Technical Review Process and Code Restructuring

Steam Technical Integration

The developer used Claude Code to handle Steam's technical requirements. For Steamworks SDK integration, depot configuration, build upload, and Steam Cloud save setup, they would screenshot the required checklist from the store, paste it into the chat and ask "how do I do this?" Claude would generate step-by-step instruction documents that were then moved into the project folder. The developer would tell Claude Code "follow this and do the work," and it automatically downloaded Steam build files, mapped store App IDs, and generated deployment executables.

Image Specifications Challenges

Steam's store requires capsule images, screenshots, and banners with pixel-perfect specifications. Off by even 1 pixel results in rejection. The developer uploaded the DLC capsule image and was rejected multiple times, eventually force-resizing with ImageMagick to get it through. This non-code problem consumed the most time during the launch process.

Code Restructuring for DLC and Localization

When adding two DLCs and support for 7 languages (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese), the existing code structure couldn't handle it. The developer noted that Claude's code contained hardcoded elements - every time they added a new character, map, skill, or language support, they could feel "it's hardcoding again."

Claude suggested two approaches for restructuring: JSON and CSV. The developer chose JSON since they were familiar with it, converting all game data to that structure. During this process, Claude Code resisted the work, suggesting "this isn't necessary right now, let's do it later," particularly when adding new characters.

Localization Implementation

Translating 291 keys into 7 languages was handled by Claude, which managed everything from localization file structure to the translations themselves. The developer acknowledged the translations might not be perfect but noted that supporting 7 languages at this scale would have been impossible without AI for a solo developer.

Verification and Testing

After restructuring, the longest part was verification, particularly DLC purchase validation. The developer had Claude implement the validation, then personally tested the purchase flow multiple times to ensure characters would appear correctly for DLC purchases.

The game passed Steam's technical review on the first try. The developer concluded that code-solvable parts were surprisingly fast with AI assistance, while parts requiring human eyes (like image work) took the longest.