How to Uninstall a Steam Game on Windows 10 & 11

Steam is an extremely popular digital platform to access PC games. The sheer number of game titles is overwhelming, in a good way. That said, it’s easy to go a little overboard and before you know it, your PC is running low on storage space. If you want to learn how to uninstall Steam games, we have multiple methods and the steps for each. We’ll even cover how to back up or reinstall them too, so all your bases are covered.

Uninstall a Steam game

There are a few methods on how to uninstall a game on Steam, including using the Steam client, using the Windows Control Panel, the Windows Settings app, or uninstalling manually. Pick whichever suits you best, we have instructions for each of them.

How to Uninstall Games Through Steam

A Steam game can be uninstalled directly from the Steam client. This will apply only to Steam games and not non-Steam games that you’ve added to your library.

1. Open the Steam app
2. Go to Library
3. In the column on the left, look for the game you want to uninstall and right-click it
4. From the context menu, go to Manage>Uninstall
   
   
5. The game will be uninstalled, and in most cases, its folder will be deleted too
6. Open File Explorer and navigate to the Steam folder
7. Go to Steam\steamapps\common and delete the folder for the game you just uninstalled if it’s still there

How to Uninstall Steam Games Windows 11 & 10

The steps for how to uninstall a game on Steam through th Windows Control Panel will be similar with both the 10 and 11 versions. 

1. To open the Control Panel press the Windows button and R at the same time (Win + R)
2. The Run box will open, type Control Panel in the field and push the Enter key
   
3. Select Programs and Features   
   
   
4. From here, find the Steam game you wish to uninstall and select it
5. Click on the Uninstall option
   

Uninstall Game From The Windows Settings App

Here’s how to uninstall Steam games (and non-Steam games) on Windows 10 and 11:

1. Open the Settings app (Win +I keyboard shortcut)
2. Go to the Apps
   
   
3. Look for the game you want to uninstall and select it
4. Click the Uninstall button
5. Once the game has been uninstalled, you have to manually delete its folder from the Steam Library folder

Manually Deleting Steam Files From Computer

If you want to be particularly aggressive with uninstallation, you can manually delete your game files. This will totally remove it from your PC, but they will likely still appear in your Steam Library. Here are the steps: 

1. Go to File Explorer and find your Steam install folder. By default it is often in C:Program Files (x86)Steam. It also might just be labeled Program Files (x86)
   
2. Go to your Steammaps folder
   
3. Go to the Common folder
4. There should be a folder for each installed game. Right click the game-folder you want to get rid of and select Delete
    
   
5. From there, the game is completely uninstalled. To play it again you’d have to reinstall it and your previous progress will be lost

How to Back Up a Game on Steam

If you want to back up your steam game before uninstalling, we have the steps below. Note, you may have these saved to your Steam account already, but just in case it’s never a bad idea to save it yourself. 

1. Go to File Explorer and find your Steam install folder. By default it is often in C:Program Files (x86)Steam. It also might just be labeled Program Files (x86)
2. Go to your Steammaps folder
3. Go to the Common folder
4. There should be a folder for each installed game. Right click the game-folder you want to back up and choose Copy. From there you can Paste it where you wish so that your game is properly saved 

Note: If your game files are saved elsewhere on your PC, you just need to access them and then copy and paste the file where you want it saved.

How to Reinstall a Steam Game

Now you know how to uninstall Steam games, here’s how to reinstall when you’re ready:

1. If your game has been uninstalled from your PC but is still in your Steam library, you can simply reinstall it by right clicking the game and selecting Install from the options
2. From there, you should have prompted instructions on how to finish the install. You can even choose to save it elsewhere if you don’t have the space on your hard drive
3. If you already saved a backup of a game and you want to reinstall it, just copy and paste it from where you saved it to or move the file to the folder you want to access it from

FAQs

Will uninstalling Steam games free up space?

Absolutely. It will free up hard drive space, which can be bogged down with too many game titles. If this is a recurring problem for you, you can save your Steam games to a separate drive so you don’t have to keep uninstalling things to make room. 

What is the fastest way to uninstall a game on Steam?

Uninstalling from the Windows Control Panel or Settings App are your fastest options.

How do I completely uninstall a game on Steam?

1. Open Steam
2. Go to your Library
3. Choose the game you want uninstalled
4. On the right, select the gear icon
5. Select Manage from the drop down options
6. Select Uninstall
7. Confirm you want to uninstall via the prompt

How do I remove a game from Steam Library?

1. Before you remove your Steam game from your Library, uninstall it from the Control Panel, as was detailed earlier. This will delete the files from your PC, which is something you’ll have to do manually. Deleting the title from Steam won’t automatically extract it from your computer
2. Open Steam
3. Select Help from the top of the screen
4. Choose Steam-Support from the menu options
5. You can use the search option to find the game you want to get rid of, or it may be in your recently played list
6. A few options will pop up. Click, I want to permanently remove this game from my account   
7. Choose OK, remove the listed games from my account permanently  
8. The game is now deleted. To play it again you’d have to repurchase itNote: If you have owned the game less than 2 weeks and played it less than 2 hours, you may be eligible for a refund from Steam

Deleting a free Steam game is much easier. Here’s how: 

1. Open Steam
2. Go to your Library
3. Select the free game you want to delete
4. Right click the game and select Manage
5. From there you can choose Remove from account
6. Confirm removal via the pop up window

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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