Steamworks Branches Tutorial: How to Create a Private Test Branch (Dev Vlog #5)
In this quick tutorial, I walk through how to set up a private test branch in Steamworks for a game that’s already published.
I originally thought I needed a separate depot for testing, but that caused Steam to always launch the default branch instead. Turns out, you don’t need a new depot at all — just a new branch.
I’ll show you:
How to create a private Steam branch with a password
Where to enable it in the Steam client (Betas tab)
How to assign a build correctly
How I use an AI-generated upload script to automate test branch uploads
This is especially useful if you want to test updates privately without affecting your live players.
Hope this saves you some time — thanks for watching.