If you’re trying to log into Steam and keep getting hit with slow load times or a few error codes, including the E20 authentication error, you may be wondering: “is Steam down right now?” There can be different causes for Steam connection issues and outages. Typically, though, it’s from one of two things.
Steam Server Status: Are Steam Servers Down?
First of all, is Steam down right now? Currently, Steam is not down and is working for most users.
Down Detector indicates less than 50 reports from users across the network. A Steam outage occurred for some users at about 5 p.m. EST on May 3, 2023, with more than 2,000 outage reports streaming in. You can see the Steam outage report right here.
During the April 25 Steam down time, users reported running into several network problems, including pesky “could not connect to network” errors. However, it appears these issues were relatively intermittent at worst.
Steam Tuesday Maintenance
It’s important to remember that Valve typically performs routine Steam maintenance on Tuesdays, bringing the system down for a short duration before bringing it back up again. In other words: Steam not connecting is a regular thing to expect on Tuesday evenings (EST)/Tuesday afternoons (PDT).
So how long is Steam maintenance usually? Valve advises that Steam maintenance times are typically less than an hour. In these circumstances, it’s best to just wait things out for a short time before trying to log in again.
An Influx of Users Because of a Sale or Promotion
Steam not connecting or having server issues can also be related to a heavy influx of users during a sale or promotion. Anyone who’s tried to log in during any Steam sale knows that outages regularly happen during the early portions of these events.
Though not as commonplace, not being able to connect to the Steam network or finding that Steam is offline can be correlated to big game releases from time to time.
Of course, it’s always good to check your Internet connection and work through the typical troubleshooting tips to make sure there aren’t any issues with the connection from your end, especially outside of regular maintenance hours.
But for now, that answers the question of whether or not Steam is currently down. No, it’s not. We’ll keep this article updated with more information as things settle out.
