Steam store trailer specs: 1080p, 60 fps and 5,000 Kbps from Timeline

Short answer

Steamworks lists store trailers at up to 1920x1080, 30 or 60 frames per second (29.97 and 59.94 also appear), a bitrate of 5,000 Kbps or more, and the file types .mov, .wmv or .mp4, with H.264 video and AAC audio preferred. Sume Timeline can render a 1920x1080 MP4 at 30 or 60 fps, so the container and frame rate fit; bitrate is the one number you have to measure.

Steam also prefers 16:9, and accepts 4:3. A vertical default render is wrong for Steam, so set the output size explicitly.

Spec check

Steam's numbers beside what Timeline's docs state.

Set it up

The Timeline default is 1080x1920 vertical, so pass output.width 1920 and output.height 1080. Both are even and within 256 to 2160. Set output.fps to 30 or 60; 24 and 25 are valid for Timeline but are not in Steam's list, so avoid them for a store trailer. Footage that began at 24 fps will not become smoother at 60; match the rate you shot at, if Steam lists it, or choose 30.

Gameplay captures often come at 60 fps. If yours do, render at 60 and the result matches both the source and Steam's list. Slots take media.sume.com URLs, so import capture files first with POST /v1/media-imports.

• Use fit contain or cover deliberately; a 16:10 capture needs one of them in a 16:9 frame.
• Measure bitrate on a short render before the full one.
• Check 30 versus 60 before choosing; 60 makes bigger files.
• Run POST /v1/timeline-1.0/plan first for duration and cost.

Cost and loops

A 90-second trailer renders as two output minutes, so it costs $0.20 at the public rate. Renders for tests are the same price per minute, so run a ten-second sample to verify the bitrate and the audio before the final. Steam's page is the source for every number in the left column; recheck it before you upload, since store requirements can change.

For the trailer thumbnail rule, see the thumbnail must be a frame post, and for a demo trailer for the October festival, see the Next Fest trailer post.

Audio and loudness

Steam asks for stereo audio at 44 or 48 kHz, with AAC preferred. The Timeline docs describe the soundtrack controls (gain_db, loop, fade_out_seconds up to 10, duck_db 0 to 20) but not a sample rate, so check the rendered file with ffprobe and compare the numbers with the Steamworks page.

If a trailer has both game audio and music, duck the music under dialogue or key sound effects instead of lowering the whole track. A store page often autoplays with the viewer's own volume, so mix for clarity at a moderate level rather than a loud one.