It is actually clear that companies think about their own representation in the form of names and logos. On Reddit, a player shares the surprising realization for him that the logo of the Steam game platform actually makes sense. But hundreds of speaking spoke up with references that should amaze him even more.
What does the Steam logo show? Even if the logo was refreshed a little in August 2014, the core of the illustration has been the same for over 20 years: a piston layer that looks like the mechanism of a steam engine.
The author of a Reddit post shares within the Steam community that he has finally recognized the origin of the Steam logo. He publishes a photo that shows the mechanism from the logo on a steam boiler.
The community reacts with over 14,000 upvotes, but also with the note: “Wait until you hear from the Valve logo.” (Adamhandon via Reddit)
Here you can see the trailer for Metal Eden, whose demo will appear on Steam.
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Logo and name with meaning and purpose
How did Valve choose the name Steam? In an article by Gamestar, the origin of Valve’s name is explained, which prevailed against a selection such as “Fruitfly Ensemble” or “Rhino Scar”.
As is well known, Valve itself is either with a lettering of their name or a red valve (German word for Valve) that is located on the back of a man. The community also provided further exciting details on Reddit:
When Valve finally released the Steam game platform in 2003, their naming came from a pun. Because “Valve Releases Steam” (“valve leaves off”) is correct in two ways and remains easy to remember.
Why the steam engine mechanism? The choice for the Steam logo naturally arose from the name, but also in further metaphorical terms. The connected piston system of a steam engine is reminiscent of connectivity and river, which should also be created by the game platform.
The logo is quite simple, with a light-dark contrast that has been recognized by players worldwide for many years. As can be heard from the Reddit post, even so much that the connection to the steam engine mechanism has already moved into the background and that the logo is associated with PC games instead.
The 14,000 upvotes at least show that the player is very likely not the only one to have only noticed this knowledge.
How is Steam in 2025? On March 13, Valve published the year review 2024 on Steam, which includes a lot of data and statistics of the past year. Among other things, Valve wanted to know how many players have remained loyal to the platform since 2023 and what the number of their play hours is. You can read this and other results in this article: According to Valve, new players have spent 16,000 years on Steam in 2023, 16,000 years