If you’re trying to dive into the Steam Winter Sale but are only greeted by a black screen or error messages, don’t worry; it’s not your internet connection. Steam is currently down, and the timeline for its return is still uncertain.
Current Situation and User Reactions
Valve has yet to inform users about the cause of the issue, with the platform being down for over an hour at this point. Thousands have reported the problem on DownDetector, and the unofficial status on SteamDB reveals that more than 250K users have checked in to understand the situation.
The timing is less than ideal for the digital platform to be offline, especially with numerous players worldwide eager to redeem gift cards and snag items from their wishlist at a significant discount.
Alternative Options and Community Insights
Fortunately, the Winter Sale continues until January 5, 2026, allowing ample time for Valve to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, you can claim today’s free game, The Callisto Protocol, on the Epic Games Store.
While you wait for Steam’s return, consider the words of Adrian Chmielarz, who highlighted in a recent interview that the Epic Games Store lacks the community feel of Steam. “People are not, basically, using EGS as their home, it’s not home to them. I don’t know if it’s deliberate or not, but EGS doesn’t have written reviews. They don’t have the forums. There’s nothing to do there but to buy. So that will always lose to a shop that is also emotional and you can basically engage with the shop. EGS is a shop, and Steam is a community.“
Stay tuned for updates on when the store will be back online and any information from Valve regarding this outage.