How To Install Steam on Ubuntu

Now, before you say it, I know. You’re reading this with a slightly egregious look on your face because, after all, it’s easy to install Steam on Ubuntu, right?

Perhaps not as easy as it could be.

You asked for this guide

Since Xenial’s launch a fair few readers have mailed us seeking help on installing the Steam, the popular digital games distribution platform, on their clean install. Most of these requests wrestle with the installer package distributed on the official Steam website.

In this post I will show you how to install Steam on Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus — both the recommended way, and the very much unrecommended way!

Getting a ‘package not found’ error? If so, you need to enable the multiverse repository first.

This can be done in one of two ways:

  1. Open ‘Software & Updates’ from the Unity Dash
  2. Go to the ‘Ubuntu Software’ tab
  3. Check the box next to ‘Ubuntu Software Restricted by Copyright (Multiverse)
  4. Click ‘Close’

You will be asked if you wish to update your package index. Accept this and let it do its thing.

Once this has completed you can proceed to install Steam by searching for to in the Ubuntu Software app. Alternatively, press the button below to trigger the install:

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