Are you the type of gamer who want to complete all the achievements in game? What do you do when you get stuck in a game? Or when you already accomplished the task but it doesn’t reflect on your achievements? Some Steam gamers resort to Steam Achievements Manager.
This guide will explain what Steam Achievement Manager is, how to download it, and how to unlock achievements with it. It will also try to answer some other questions you might have about Steam Achievement Manager.
What is Steam Achievement Manager?
Steam Achievement Manager is an open-source program that allows you to manage all your achievements on Steam. It lets you track all your achievements in Steam in one place. You can also add or remove any in-game achievements in the games in your library.
Note that Steam Achievement Manager is not officially endorsed by Steam. It was originally released by gamer and developer Rick Gibbed in 2008.
Why Use Steam Achievement Manager to Unlock Achievements?
Steam Achievement Manager lets you manually add achievements to your Steam Games. Because of this, some people in the gaming community view this as cheating.
However, some gamers justify their use of Steam Achievement Manager in cases such as a game bugs out and fails to unlock the achievement they have already worked hard for. Instead of doing the game all over again, they just add the achievement using the Steam Achievement Manager because they feel that they’ve already earned it.
Another reason why some gamers use it is when the game has been changed in some way and it won’t be possible to complete the achievement in the latest version of the game.
For others, they just simply want to have some bragging rights so they use the software to make it appear that they have completed all the achievements in the game.
What’s the Point of Steam Achievements Anyway?
Some gamers like the feeling of being able to complete achievements in a game. Earning achievement can also keep them engage in a particular game.
Some achievements in the game can unlock in-game items like weapons, etc.
Do all Games in Steam Have Achievement?
No. Not all games available in Steam have achievements.
How to Download and Install Steam Achievement Manager?
There is no need to install Steam Achievement Manager but you do need to download it and unpack it into your computer. Here are the steps on how to download and use Steam Achievement Manager.
- Go to the GitHub page for Steam Achievement Manager and click on Download Latest Release and then click the zip file to download it on your computer.
- Unzip the file into your computer by using a compression/extraction tool. Do not put them inside the Steam folder.
- Find SAM.game.exe in the folder and double click to run it.
How To Unlock Steam Achievement with Steam Achievement Manager?
- Make sure you are logged in Steam with no games running.
- After unzipping Steam Achievement Manager download on your computer, just look for SAM.game.exe and click it to run it.
- Steam Achievement Manager will automatically detect the games you have in your Steam Library. Select the game you want to alter.
- You will all see the in-game achievements for that game. Tick the ones you want to mark as complete and then hit commit change. You can also click on the opened padlock icon which unlocks all Steam achievements and then hit commit change.
- When you go to your Steam client, you will see that the changes have been applied.
Can Steam Achievement Manager Get You Banned?
One concern gamers have about Steam Achievement Manager is whether using it can get you banned in a game.
There is a very slight possibility that you can get banned when using Steam Achievement Manager. To minimize the risk of getting banned, do the following.
- Some games like Team Fortress 2 and Pay Day 2 have achievements that will unlock an item in the game. It is best not to use Steam Achievements Manager in such games because it might get you banned.
- Do not use it on VAC (Valve Anti Cheat) protected games while being connected to a VAC protected game server.
Do I need to Download Steam Achievement Manager?
The software is really not necessary for you to play and enjoy Steam. However, if you are the type of player who cares about achievements, then the choice is yours. Just follow the precautions to avoid getting banned on a game. And also, just be aware that while Steam hasn’t cracked down on Steam Achievements Manager since it was first released in 2008, we really don’t know if they would do so in the future.
Summing Up
Steam Achievements Manager lets you manually add or remove achievements of the games in your Steam library.
Some gamers frown on this practice of using Steam Achievements Manager because it is akin to cheating. But some justify using it when they already have finished the achievements but it won’t show up in their game.
You can get Steam Achievements Manager from its Github. To use it, you need to download it and unpack it into your computer. Make sure you put it outside the Steam directory.
You can unlock all the achievements of a game with a few clicks on the Steam Achievement Manager.
It is unlikely that you would get banned by using Steam Achievements Manager. Nevertheless, avoid using it in games where achievements are tied to in-game items and on VAC protected games to minimize the risk of getting banned.