Custom “Now playing” text and appearing offline on Steam

The non-Steam game trick

Steam lets you add any program to your library as a non-Steam game, and the name you give the shortcut is what friends see while it runs. In the Steam client, open Games → Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library, pick any program, then open the shortcut's properties and type the text you want as its name. Launch it, and your status shows that text.

Two limits: the program has to keep running on your PC for the text to stay, and a non-Steam game adds no hours to your profile.

A custom text with AFK Hours

On the paid plans, each account's settings on AFK Hours take a “Now playing” text of up to 64 characters. Steam shows it on the profile as a non-Steam game, ahead of the real ones, while the games in your list keep collecting hours from our servers with your PC off. The text takes one of Steam's 32 slots, so 31 games stay. Without a text, you pick which of your games shows first.

On the Free plan, Steam shows “afkhours.com” while the account idles; the hours still go to your games.

Appearing offline while idling

Invisible makes you look offline to everyone while you stay signed in: messages still reach you and playtime keeps counting, but friends see no game and no text. On AFK Hours, each account's “Status on Steam” setting picks Online, Away, Busy or Invisible for the time it idles, on every plan.

The same settings choose the device Steam shows next to the status: a PC, Big Picture, the phone app or the web.

Hiding your playtime

If the goal is that nobody sees your hours, Steam's privacy settings handle it: set your game details to private or friends only, or keep them public and tick the option that always keeps your total playtime private. For a single game, marking it as private in your library hides it and your activity in it from others.

Answering friends while you are away

A status does not answer anyone. AFK Hours' auto-reply sends the text you choose to a friend who writes to the account while it idles, once per friend per hour, and can answer game invites the same way. Friend requests and group invites that arrive meanwhile can be left alone, accepted or declined.

Side by side

The short version:

• Non-Steam shortcut: free, PC on, the text only, no hours.
• AFK Hours text: paid plans, PC off, the text plus up to 31 games collecting hours.
• Invisible: on Steam and on every AFK Hours plan; you look offline and the hours still count.
• Privacy settings: free, hide your games or your total playtime from others.