Check your purchase date in your Steam library
Steam stores your purchase date for every game you own, and you can see it in a few clicks. Open Steam on your computer, go to your library, right-click the game you want to check, and select View license and product key. A window will pop up showing when you bought it — the date appears under "Purchase Date" near the top.
This method works for games you own outright. If you're checking a game you no longer own or one you borrowed through Steam Family Library, the purchase date may not display the same way, and you might need to use the methods below instead.
Key Takeaways
- Right-click any game in your Steam library and select View license and product key to see the purchase date immediately.
- Your Steam account page shows a purchase history of all transactions, including games bought years ago that you may no longer own.
- If you bought a game as a gift, the purchase date is when you bought it, not when the recipient claimed it.
- Games purchased during sales or bundled with other games still show their actual purchase date, not the sale date.
Look at your account purchase history
Steam keeps a complete record of every purchase you've made on your account. Go to your Steam profile, click on your username in the top right, and select Account. Then click Purchase history on the left side. You'll see a list of every transaction, with dates, prices, and what you bought.
This list includes games you've deleted from your library, games you bought as gifts, and bundles you purchased. The dates shown are when the transaction went through, not when you started playing. If you bought a bundle, the entire bundle shows as one purchase on one date, even though it contained multiple games.
Search your email for the purchase receipt
When you buy a game on Steam, Valve sends a receipt email to the address on your account. Search your email for "Steam purchase" or the game's name, and you'll find the original receipt with the exact date and time of purchase. This is useful if you want to confirm a date or if you're trying to remember whether you bought something recently.
Receipts stay in your email even if you later refund the game or delete it from your library. If you can't find the email, check your spam or promotions folder — sometimes email filters catch them. You can also change your email address in your Steam account settings and have receipts resent, though this is rarely necessary.
Use the Steam community profile to see purchase dates
If you've made your game library public on your Steam profile, you can see purchase dates by visiting your own profile and looking at your games list. Click on your profile name, select Games, and you'll see each game with the date you bought it displayed underneath the title. This only works if your library visibility is set to public.
Other people cannot see your purchase dates even if your library is public — only you can view them on your own profile. If your library is set to private or friends-only, you'll need to use the license key method or purchase history instead.
What to do if Steam doesn't show a purchase date
Some older games or games from before Steam's current system was in place may not display a purchase date. If you see a game in your library with no date, it was likely bought before Steam started tracking purchase dates consistently, or it was added to your account through a promotion or gift that didn't generate a standard purchase record.
In these cases, your email receipt is your best source of information. Search for the game name in your email going back several years. If you still can't find it, the purchase history page will show it under "Other" or "Removed" transactions if it was ever tied to a payment method on your account.
Games bought as gifts or from bundles
When you buy a game as a gift, the purchase date shown is when you bought it, not when the recipient claimed or activated it. The person who receives the gift sees their own purchase date as the day they accepted it. If you're trying to remember when you sent a gift, check your purchase history — it will show the transaction under "Gift" with the date you completed the purchase.
Games that came in a bundle show the bundle's purchase date, not individual game dates. If you want to know when a specific game in a bundle was released or when you could have first bought it separately, you'll need to check the game's store page or your email receipt for the bundle purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see when someone else bought a game on Steam?
No. Purchase dates are private to your own account. You can see what games your friends own if their library is public, but not when they bought them. Only the account holder can view purchase dates through their own library or account settings.
Does Steam show the purchase date if I refunded a game?
Yes. Refunded games still appear in your purchase history with their original purchase date. The history shows the refund as a separate transaction, so you can see both when you bought it and when you refunded it.
What if I bought a game before I created my current Steam account?
If you bought it on a different account, it won't show in your current account's history. You would need to log into the original account to see the purchase date. If you no longer have access to that account, you can contact Steam support with proof of purchase (like an old email receipt) to help recover the information.
Why does my purchase history show a different date than the game's store page?
The store page shows when the game was released, not when you bought it. Your purchase history shows when you personally bought it, which could be years after release. These are two different dates and both are correct — they're just measuring different things.