Valve has changed how customers can acquire a video game's soundtrack on Steam. This update was made with two main objectives in mind: fixing the customer experience issues with the currently used model, where soundtracks are categorised as DLC, and adding new features.

Starting with the fixes, the soundtracks available to be purchased on Steam were previously categorised as DLCs, which was the closest category previously available according to a Steam representative. Initially, it worked but was later bound to DLC-specific behaviour on the Steam store and app.

From now on, there is the new “soundtrack” category on Steam. With the introduction of this new category, there are some improvements over the previous model:

• customers can now purchase soundtracks without purchasing the base game.
• customers can now download soundtracks without downloading the base game.
• customers can browse and manage their owned and downloaded soundtracks directly from the new Steam library.
• customers can configure a Steam “music” directory where all soundtrack content will be placed, rather than having to locate it in subdirectories of game content.
• developers can upload and manage soundtrack content entirely through the partner site, without using steamcmd.
• developers can sell soundtracks where the base game itself is not available for sale on Steam.

New features were also added, such as multiple levels of playback quality, a new interface for soundtracks in the Stream library, and the addition of extra content with the purchase of a soundtrack such as soundtrack artwork and liner notes.

For the developers that have already launched their games' soundtracks on Steam, Valve has created a tool to migrate the ones which were set as DLC. This tool converts the store's app type from “DLC” to “soundtrack”.

If you to know more about how Valve handles video game's soundtracks on Steam, you can check their official documentation HERE.

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KitGuru says: Have you ever bought a video game's soundtrack on Steam?

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