Originally posted by Rock4:

Subject: Suggestion to Improve Language Accessibility on Steam Forums

Hello Steam Team,

I’d like to suggest an improvement that could benefit a large part of the global community: integrating an automatic translation system into the Steam forums.

Currently, many discussion threads are only available in one language—often English—which limits access to valuable information for non-English-speaking users. Here are a few concrete ideas:

Add a “Translate” button under each post, similar to what exists on some social platforms.

There's a transactional difference between Steam offering a translation button redirecting to Google Translate and you copying said content manually to Google Translate. The difference is 20 USD per million words it would cost Valve to provide this function.

If 1% of the concurrent users (400k users of 40M) would translate the above paragraph (39 "words"), it would cost Valve 312 USD. If they cache the result and the hitrate is 97%, it would still cost Valve 9.36 USD. Just for these 39 words alone.

Allow users to filter discussions by language.

Display a visible language tag on each post.

Without the above solution for localization detection, pointless.

Encourage community-driven translations with a contribution and reward system.

Nobody will translate for quasi-free, and Valve will not pay more than $0 for unverified community translations.

Steam is a global platform, and making the forums more linguistically accessible would strengthen inclusivity and collaboration among players.

And it works fine the way it is right now.

Originally posted by Ettanin:

Originally posted by Rock4:

Subject: Suggestion to Improve Language Accessibility on Steam Forums

Hello Steam Team,

I’d like to suggest an improvement that could benefit a large part of the global community: integrating an automatic translation system into the Steam forums.

Currently, many discussion threads are only available in one language—often English—which limits access to valuable information for non-English-speaking users. Here are a few concrete ideas:

Add a “Translate” button under each post, similar to what exists on some social platforms.

There's a transactional difference between Steam offering a translation button redirecting to Google Translate and you copying said content manually to Google Translate. The difference is 20 USD per million words it would cost Valve to provide this function.

If 1% of the concurrent users (400k users of 40M) would translate the above paragraph (39 "words"), it would cost Valve 312 USD. If they cache the result and the hitrate is 97%, it would still cost Valve 9.36 USD. Just for these 39 words alone.

Allow users to filter discussions by language.

Display a visible language tag on each post.

Without the above solution for localization detection, pointless.

Encourage community-driven translations with a contribution and reward system.

Nobody will translate for quasi-free, and Valve will not pay more than $0 for unverified community translations.

Steam is a global platform, and making the forums more linguistically accessible would strengthen inclusivity and collaboration among players.

And it works fine the way it is right now.

Thanks for your detailed reply — it’s always interesting to see the technical and economic side of things. That said, I think there’s room for nuance.

💰 Cost vs. impact: Yes, automatic translation has a cost, but compared to other infrastructure or moderation expenses, it’s not necessarily prohibitive. Especially when it’s about improving the experience for millions of users worldwide.

🌍 Accessibility: Steam is a global platform, and many players are excluded from discussions simply because of language. Even an imperfect translation button can make a real difference.

🧠 Filtering and language tags: It’s not “pointless” — even without perfect automatic detection, allowing users to tag or filter discussions by language can already improve navigation and user experience.

🤝 Community translations: There are working models out there — badges, reputation points, early access to features. People have been translating Wikipedia for free for years. It’s not utopian, it’s just a matter of motivation.

✅ “It works fine now”: Sure, but “working” doesn’t mean “optimal.” Plenty of systems function without being inclusive or accessible. Improvement doesn’t mean the current system is bad — just that it could be better.

And if you want to keep it chill and friendly, you could add something like:

I get your point, but I believe accessibility shouldn’t be seen only as a cost — it’s also an investment in the community. Sometimes small changes make a big difference for players around the world.

Unless a business can make money back to pay for a service, they are not going to use it.

Steam would make no money back from users for purchasing access to a translator system.

What does Steam get back?
Absolutely nothing.

If you want to know what someone is saying, then go use the FREE translators that exist.

And most users are going to interact with other users who speak the same language.

Translation programs for business purposes are expensive.

Originally posted by HikariLight:

Unless a business can make money back to pay for a service, they are not going to use it.

Steam would make no money back from users for purchasing access to a translator system.

What does Steam get back?
Absolutely nothing.

If you want to know what someone is saying, then go use the FREE translators that exist.

And most users are going to interact with other users who speak the same language.

Translation programs for business purposes are expensive.

Thanks for sharing your perspective — I get where you're coming from. But I think it's worth looking at the bigger picture.

💡 Not all value is monetary: Steam might not earn direct revenue from a translation feature, but it could gain in user retention, community engagement, and global reach. These are long-term assets that matter just as much as short-term profit.

🌐 Free translators exist, yes — but they’re not integrated: Copy-pasting into external tools breaks the flow of discussion. A built-in solution, even basic, would make the forums more seamless and inclusive.

👥 “Most users interact with those who speak the same language”: True in part, but Steam is a global platform. Many users browse forums for help or mod support, and language barriers can block access to valuable info.

💬 Inclusivity is a strength: Making users feel welcome regardless of language isn’t just a nice gesture — it builds loyalty. And loyal users spend more, stay longer, and contribute more.

🚀 Other platforms do it: Reddit, YouTube, even Discord have integrated translation features. Steam could follow suit without reinventing the wheel.

Originally posted by Rock4:

🚀 Other platforms do it: Reddit, YouTube, even Discord have integrated translation features. Steam could follow suit without reinventing the wheel.

Whatever AI you're using to write these posts for you is hallucinating. Of the three platforms mentioned, only YouTube has a built-in translation feature, and that's because YouTube is owned by Google. Neither Discord nor Reddit have integrated translation features.

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:

Originally posted by Rock4:

🚀 Other platforms do it: Reddit, YouTube, even Discord have integrated translation features. Steam could follow suit without reinventing the wheel.

Whatever AI you're using to write these posts for you is hallucinating. Of the three platforms mentioned, only YouTube has a built-in translation feature, and that's because YouTube is owned by Google. Neither Discord nor Reddit have integrated translation features.

Thanks for your input! I totally get where you're coming from, but there have been some recent updates that are worth noting.

YouTube does indeed have built-in translation features, especially for subtitles and sometimes descriptions, thanks to the Google ecosystem.

Discord, while it doesn’t offer native translation in its core interface, supports bots like Discord Translator and iTranslator. These allow real-time multilingual communication in servers and are widely used in international communities.

Reddit, on its end, rolled out an automatic translation feature in 2024 for posts and comments in multiple languages. It’s not universal yet, but it’s active in many countries.

So no, there’s no hallucination here — just updated information 😉. Always happy to clarify and share insights, especially when it helps everyone better understand the tools we use every day.

Why are you constantly using an AI to respond to everything?

Originally posted by Hi Im Swat:

Why are you constantly using an AI to respond to everything?

I use AI to help me express my ideas more clearly and efficiently. It saves me time and helps me be more precise. But in the end, I’m the one who decides what to say and how to say it. And as a bonus, it also translates — pretty handy when you want to be understood everywhere 🌍😉

Originally posted by Rock4:

Subject: Suggestion to Improve Language Accessibility on Steam Forums

Hello Steam Team,

I’d like to suggest an improvement that could benefit a large part of the global community: integrating an automatic translation system into the Steam forums.

Currently, many discussion threads are only available in one language—often English—which limits access to valuable information for non-English-speaking users. Here are a few concrete ideas:

Add a “Translate” button under each post, similar to what exists on some social platforms.

Allow users to filter discussions by language.

Display a visible language tag on each post.

Encourage community-driven translations with a contribution and reward system.

Steam is a global platform, and making the forums more linguistically accessible would strengthen inclusivity and collaboration among players.

Thank you for your attention and for everything you do for the community!

Best regards, [Rock4]

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/1544020/discussions/0/598534283538578902/

I am u sing a normal browser and the content in the link above is in French.

Hi all 👋

If The Callisto Protocol refuses to launch (black screen, crash at startup, nothing happens...), I found a solution that worked for me:

👉 Add -dx12 in the game's launch options.

How to do it

Go to your Steam library.

Right-click on The Callisto Protocol > Properties.

In the General tab, find Launch Options.

Simply type: -dx12

Close the window and relaunch the game.

Since I did this, the game starts without problems. 🎮 This forces the game to use DirectX 12, which can solve some bugs related to DirectX 11.

I hope this will help other players! Please let me know if it works for you too 👍

Here it is in english due to using the built-in translator for my browser, something which Valve would need to pay in order to implement.

Originally posted by The Living Tribunal:

Originally posted by Rock4:

Subject: Suggestion to Improve Language Accessibility on Steam Forums

Hello Steam Team,

I’d like to suggest an improvement that could benefit a large part of the global community: integrating an automatic translation system into the Steam forums.

Currently, many discussion threads are only available in one language—often English—which limits access to valuable information for non-English-speaking users. Here are a few concrete ideas:

Add a “Translate” button under each post, similar to what exists on some social platforms.

Allow users to filter discussions by language.

Display a visible language tag on each post.

Encourage community-driven translations with a contribution and reward system.

Steam is a global platform, and making the forums more linguistically accessible would strengthen inclusivity and collaboration among players.

Thank you for your attention and for everything you do for the community!

Best regards, [Rock4]

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/1544020/discussions/0/598534283538578902/

I am u sing a normal browser and the content in the link above is in French.

Hi all 👋

If The Callisto Protocol refuses to launch (black screen, crash at startup, nothing happens...), I found a solution that worked for me:

👉 Add -dx12 in the game's launch options.

How to do it

Go to your Steam library.

Right-click on The Callisto Protocol > Properties.

In the General tab, find Launch Options.

Simply type: -dx12

Close the window and relaunch the game.

Since I did this, the game starts without problems. 🎮 This forces the game to use DirectX 12, which can solve some bugs related to DirectX 11.

I hope this will help other players! Please let me know if it works for you too 👍

Here it is in english due to using the built-in translator for my browser, something which Valve would need to pay in order to implement.

I completely understand that some browsers offer built-in translation features, which can be very helpful. However, not all users rely on those browsers, and many access Steam through mobile devices or the desktop app, where such tools aren't available. Adding a native translation feature to Steam could greatly improve accessibility and user experience for a wider audience. Considering Valve’s resources, it seems like a relatively small enhancement that could make a meaningful difference for many users.

Originally posted by Rock4:

many access Steam through mobile devices or the desktop app, where such tools aren't available.

Copy/paste from client to browser and back is easy enough. And just about every Android phone that I've used will provide me a prompt to translate selected text on the fly if I have Google Translate installed.

Would it be nice to have a translate function built into the client? Sure. But there are so many free options available it doesn't make sense to do.

Originally posted by rawWwRrr:

Originally posted by Rock4:

many access Steam through mobile devices or the desktop app, where such tools aren't available.

Copy/paste from client to browser and back is easy enough. And just about every Android phone that I've used will provide me a prompt to translate selected text on the fly if I have Google Translate installed.

Would it be nice to have a translate function built into the client? Sure. But there are so many free options available it doesn't make sense to do.

Thanks for your feedback! Yes, there are solutions like copy-paste or built-in features on some phones — but those are individual workarounds. What I’m suggesting is a collective improvement, built directly into Steam, that would make the experience smoother for everyone without having to juggle multiple apps.

Even if free options exist, they’re not always accessible to all users (depending on the device, technical skills, or even the interface language). A native feature would be more inclusive, especially for newcomers or those who aren’t fluent in English.

And if it’s “nice to have,” as you said, then why not consider adding it? Steam evolves thanks to its users — so why not dream a little bigger. No need to copy and paste — just a simple button in the Steam forum software to translate the entire forum would be amazing.

If you're able to copy-paste things into your LLM so you can have it make circular arguments for you, why is it "impossible" for people to copy-paste things into a translator? I do it all the time when people post on my game's forum in a language I don't understand (which is most of them).

Originally posted by Ben Lubar:

If you're able to copy-paste things into your LLM so you can have it make circular arguments for you, why is it "impossible" for people to copy-paste things into a translator? I do it all the time when people post on my game's forum in a language I don't understand (which is most of them).

I totally agree — it's really frustrating to have to copy and paste messages into a translator just to understand what's being said. It would be so much easier if Steam added a "Translate" button directly in the forum threads. One click, and you’d see the message in your own language without leaving the page. It would make communication between players from different countries way smoother.

I think it would be really useful if Steam added a "Translate" button directly in the discussion threads. Just one click, and you could read messages in your own language — no need to leave Steam or copy and paste anything. It would make conversations with players from different countries much easier and more welcoming for everyone.