Install Steam Skins on Windows 10

 

First, Download Your Favorite Steam Skin

To use a Steam skin, you’ll have to find one on the internet. To search for the best Steam skins, we recommend visiting steamskins.org, a website that provides slick themes for your client.

To see the most popular skins uploaded to the website, click on the “Popular” tab at the top of the web page. Other tabs include “Anime,” “Clean,” “Colors” (which features skins that prominently feature one color), “Dark,” “Light,” and “Soft”-themed skins. Pick the tab that’s right for you.

After choosing a tab, you’ll find a list of available skins. Each skin’s page provides a description of what the skin is trying to achieve, its legibility, a record of how the skin has been altered over time, or some mix of these aspects.

Keep in mind that there might be some drawbacks to some of these skins. For example, in some skins, the “Big Picture Mode” function in Steam doesn’t have a button, and you might have to go through the “View” menu instead.

Once you’ve decided which skin to use, scroll down to the middle of the page just above “Related Skins” and under “Installation Instructions.” You’ll see an option to either use a “Direct Download” or “External Download.”

We recommend “External Download,” since you can download the latest version directly from the skin’s author. That has a higher chance of being an updated version that’s compatible with the latest Steam updates.

Next, Make the “Skins” Folder

Once you’ve downloaded the file (and before you extract the ZIP), you need to create a new folder for the skin that you just downloaded.

First, open File Explorer and visit  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam (or your Steam program install location). Right-click an empty space in the folder and select New > Folder.

Type in the name skins and press Enter. If you make a mistake, rename the folder to skins.

Extract the Steam Skin File

Next, locate the original Steam skin ZIP file that you’ve downloaded, right-click on it, and then select “Extract All.” When you’re on the extract screen, click “Browse” and find C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\skins, which is the folder that you just created. Click “Select folder,” and the ZIP file will begin extracting.

After it extracts, you’re free to delete the ZIP file. You won’t need it again (unless you choose to reinstall it on another machine later).

Finally, Select the Skin in Steam Settings

Once all of the files have been moved to the “skins” folder, open up the Steam client. In the top left, click “Steam,” and then “Settings.”

When you get there, select “Interface” in the sidebar. Then, click the “Select the skin you wish Steam to use” drop-down menu and select the skin that you wish to use.

After confirming, Steam will ask for a restart of the Steam client. Let Steam restart, log in with your account details, and you’ll see your new skin in action!

There’s a Caveat

You could experience compatibility issues depending on the skin that you use. For example, with the “Plexed” skin that we chose in our example, the store page looks perfectly fine on Steam, but once we tried to boot up the library section, it came up as blank. If the update comes from 2018 or before, it will likely not show your library. Go to the “External Download” section of steamskins.org to find the latest version of the skin that you want, or simply Google it.

How to Change Back to the Default Steam Skin

If you change your mind and want to revert to the standard Steam skin, open “Settings,” and then click “Interface.” Under the “Select the skin you wish Steam to use” menu, choose  “< default skin >”.

Press “OK,” and it will prompt you to restart the Steam client. Everything should now be back to normal on your favorite PC platform. Whatever your setup, we wish you the best on your PC gaming adventure. Have fun!