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Spacewar 480: Opening Steam’s Little Multiplayer Test Game
A January 2025 look at the launch link, menus and space-combat game.
Article published November 4, 2026.
Steam has a small game that is easy to miss if you only browse the store. In this January 2025 video, I open Spacewar, app 480, and take a look at the game and networking menus.
The launch link from the video
The original description supplies steam://run/480. In the recording, opening that link prompts Steam to install the game, then I launch it from its page.
I show a small download in that session. Its displayed size is a historical observation, not a promise about what Steam will offer now.
A game built around a development example
I explain Spacewar as a way for developers to test Steam networking features. The menus include local-network and internet options, lobbies and a way to start a server.
There is a playable space-combat game behind those menus too. I describe the ship, shooting and the gravitational hazard in the middle, which is what makes the little example more interesting than a bare connection test.
Multiplayer is the idea to try next
I talk about connecting another computer or playing with a friend. The recording does not establish a completed two-player session, nor does it make the networking sample a general test of every game's multiplayer behavior.
It is a fun small detour from the usual library, and a glimpse of the development side of Steam. The exact original launch link is preserved above as text.
