Steam Gifting System Receives Long-Awaited Upgrade with ‘Complete the Set’ Support
Valve has streamlined its Steam gifting system, finally allowing users to directly gift “Complete the Set” bundles to friends with accurate, personalized discounts. The update addresses a longstanding frustration for players and gift-givers, resolving the technical hurdles that previously prevented the seamless gifting of discounted game collections.
Until recently, gifting options were limited to individual games or complete bundles, leaving personalized packages to the buyer’s manual calculation. This was due to Steam’s previous inability to accurately determine the price of a bundle based on the recipient’s existing game library. “It was technically difficult to offer a gift with the correct discount,” according to a company release.
Now, the platform can automatically assess a recipient’s inventory – even before they are selected – and calculate the price based solely on the games they don’t own within the bundle. This means a gift-giver will only pay for the missing content, reflecting the reduced bundle cost. In practice, if a friend already owns several titles in a series, the purchaser will be charged only the difference.
The improvement mirrors the existing “Complete Your Collection” feature, which allows users to receive discounts on bundles based on their own Steam library. This system already ensures that only missing titles are charged when purchasing for oneself. Valve’s challenge, as outlined in documentation from Steamworks, was to extend this functionality to the gifting process while maintaining the integrity and auditability of the storefront’s backend.
One analyst noted that the actual usage rate of such features can be difficult to gauge, as vocal minorities can sometimes skew perceptions. However, the update is broadly considered a positive step, aligning Steam with industry standards that have long accounted for existing game ownership when offering bundles and additional content. Many game providers still lack sensible upgrade paths for their titles, season passes, and downloadable content.
The update represents a significant quality-of-life improvement for the Steam community, simplifying the gifting process and ensuring fairer pricing for both the giver and the receiver. This enhancement underscores Valve’s continued commitment to refining the Steam platform and enhancing the user experience.
