Here is the short answer. Turn on Steam game recording under Steam > Settings > Game Recording.
On that screen you pick Record in Background or Record Manually, check or rebind the recording hotkeys under Shortcut Keys (Add a timeline marker is Ctrl+F12 by default), and choose where footage is saved with Recordings folder.
To get a recording out as an MP4 file, create a clip and export it as a video file. Below we walk through the settings in screen order, then compare Steam with DOR, a dedicated program for people who want recording, editing and sharing done in one place.
Method 1. Recording with Steam's Built-In Game Recording
Steam ships with a built-in Game Recording feature, so you don't need a separate program. It's tied to the Steam overlay: open the overlay mid-game and a timeline at the bottom lets you scrub back through what you just played and turn it into a clip.
- Open the Steam client and go into Settings from the top-left menu.
- In the settings screen, select the Game Recording menu.
- Choose the recording mode. Pick between background recording, which stays on and keeps only the recent segment, and on-demand recording, which captures from the moment you press the shortcut.
- Specify the drive and maximum capacity to save recording files, and the length of time to keep for background recording.
- In game, open the overlay and use the Clip button on the timeline to select the segment you want, then save it.
If you keep background recording on, the recent few minutes are continuously held in temporary storage throughout the game, so right after a great scene happens you can press the shortcut and salvage the moment that just passed as a clip. A big advantage is that you don't have to press the record button in advance.
Steam Recording Hotkeys and Where Recordings Are Saved
Every Steam recording hotkey and the folder your footage lands in sit on one screen: Steam > Settings > Game Recording. That's also where you decide between always-on background recording and recording only when you start it yourself. Here's the order to check things, following Steam's own support page.
- 1Open Game Recording settingsIn the Steam client, click Steam in the top-left corner, then Settings > Game Recording. Mid-game, you can open the overlay and pick the Game Recording tab at the bottom of the screen instead.
- 2Pick a recording modeChoose Recording Off, Record in Background, or Record Manually. Background mode starts recording as soon as you start playing and keeps the most recent stretch in a temporary format, while manual mode only records after you press your bound key.
- 3Check or rebind the hotkeysUnder Shortcut Keys you will see Start/stop recording or Start/stop saving a clip, depending on the mode, plus Add a timeline marker, which is Ctrl+F12 by default. Click any entry to bind a different key or combo.
- 4Set the Recordings folder and disk spaceUse Recordings folder to choose the drive. Steam needs a restart before a new folder takes effect. Background footage is overwritten oldest first once the space you allocated fills up, so pick a drive with room and set disk space and quality here too.
- 5Find recordings and export an MP4Recordings show up under View > Recordings & Screenshots. Steam stores them in a raw format, so to get an actual MP4 file you create a clip and choose Export Video File.
Method 2. Recording with a Dedicated Recording Program like DOR
A dedicated program is different in that it takes charge of the whole step after recording, that is, making, polishing, and posting clips, more than the recording itself. Taking DOR as an example, the flow after installation is as follows.
- Install and launch DOR, then set the recording options (quality, frame rate, save location) just once.
- Launch your Steam game as usual. If it's a supported game, DOR automatically detects the running Steam game.
- Once the detected game is set as the recording target, the entire play is recorded with no extra setup.
- When the match ends, the footage is waiting in My Clips. In League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, FC Online, Fortnite, CS2 and Overwatch, kills or goals are already cut as auto clips; in the other supported games you scrub the full recording and trim the moment you want.
- Save the trimmed moment in 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 in the app, then use DOR Studio to merge clips or add text and BGM before exporting an MP4 or sharing a dor.gg link. The steps for posting vertical Shorts are in how to make a vertical game video.
The Limits of Steam's Built-In Recording
Steam's built-in recording is clearly well made, but as you use it, you start to see its boundaries. Knowing where the built-in feature's territory ends lets you divide the two methods better.
- Editing stays at the trimming level of cutting the front and back of a clip. Full-on editing that stitches multiple scenes together or adds captions and emphasis effects needs a different tool.
- Timeline event markers (kills, rounds, etc.) only show up if the game officially supports them. In games that don't support it, you have to find the segments yourself.
- Sharing is limited to MP4 export, QR codes, and temporary links, and the flow of exporting directly in a form tailored to the platforms you post to often is weak.
- In games that don't use the Steam overlay or in some runtime environments, recording may not be captured.
Steam Game Recording vs. DOR at a Glance
Both record Steam games, but they start and keep recordings in different ways. The table sticks to what Steam's official pages and DOR's features actually state.
| Feature | Steam Game Recording | DOR |
|---|---|---|
| How recording starts | Record in Background starts when you start playing; Record Manually waits for your hotkey | Detects a supported game when you launch it and records the whole match or session |
| What gets recorded | Games played through the Steam client that support the Steam overlay; not your desktop or other apps | DOR's supported games; anything outside a game can be captured with screen recording (F7 by default) |
| Marking key moments | Games with Steam Timeline support add their own markers (for example Dota 2 and CS2); press Ctrl+F12 to add your own | Auto clips for kills or goals in League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, Overwatch, CS2, Fortnite, FC Online and more |
| How long footage stays | Background footage is overwritten oldest first once the allocated space is full; saved clips stay | Recordings collect in My Clips; older videos are cleaned up only when the full gameplay share (5GB by default) is exceeded, and recent recordings and liked videos stay |
| Editing | Adjust a clip's start and end points before saving | Trim in the app (16:9, 9:16, 1:1); in DOR Studio, merge videos and add effect templates, text and BGM |
| Export and sharing | Export to MP4, copy to clipboard, send to another device, send an MP4 via the Steam Mobile App or a QR code, or create a share link that expires after 2 days | Export to MP4 or share a dor.gg link that plays right in a phone browser |
| Audio | Choose which audio is captured, including other programs such as voice chat | Records game sound and your mic together on one track |
DOR is a free Windows app that detects a supported game the moment you launch it and starts recording on its own. When the match ends, the footage is waiting in My Clips. In games with auto clips, moments like kills are already cut; in the other supported games you scrub the full recording and trim the moment you want.
Take Counter-Strike: CS2 supports both Steam Timeline markers and DOR's auto clips for kills, deaths and assists, so you can run the two side by side. In PUBG, DOR clips kills, knocks and deaths automatically and offers an automatic highlight analysis after the match. For supported games there's no record button to remember.
Which Method Should You Choose?
To sum up, here it is. If you just want to lightly keep your best moments now and then without any extra installs, Steam's built-in game recording is enough.
Conversely, if making clips often, cutting and editing them, and posting them to multiple places quickly is your daily routine, a dedicated program like DOR, which handles everything from recording to sharing at once, saves a lot of time. Using both together is a good choice too.
Lay down a safety net with background recording normally, and switch over to DOR when you're seriously making clips. If you want to weigh other recorders too, see our free game recorder comparison for OBS and Bandicam, Medal alternatives if you use Medal, and Outplayed alternatives if you use Outplayed.
