A Steam library that has been growing for a decade turns into an archaeological site. Bundle filler, abandoned early access experiments and free giveaways pile up until finding something you actually want to play becomes a chore. This guide explains how to delete a game from your Steam library, and clarifies the crucial difference between uninstalling, hiding and permanently removing a title from your account.
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Three different things people mean by deleting a Steam game
Uninstalling frees up drive space but keeps the game in your library forever. Hiding leaves the game installed or uninstalled but removes it from your visible list. Permanently removing deletes the licence from your account entirely, which cannot be undone and does not produce a refund. Choosing the wrong one is the single most common regret, so read the section that matches your goal before clicking anything.
| Game | Platform | Genre | Why It’s Great | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldur’s Gate 3 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | CRPG | Extraordinary player freedom and reactivity across three long acts | 9.8/10 |
| Elden Ring | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | Action RPG | Open-world exploration with FromSoftware’s best combat and boss design | 9.7/10 |
| Hades II | PC, Switch | Roguelike | Runs that are always different, wrapped in the sharpest writing in the genre | 9.4/10 |
| Half-Life: Alyx | PC (VR) | VR shooter | Still the benchmark for what virtual reality gameplay can be | 9.5/10 |
| Factorio | PC | Automation sim | The purest engineering puzzle box, with mod support that never runs dry | 9.6/10 |
| Portal 2 | PC, consoles | Puzzle | Perfect pacing, perfect comedy, and a co-op campaign worth replaying | 9.9/10 |
| Disco Elysium: The Final Cut | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch | RPG | A detective RPG built almost entirely from dialogue and skill checks | 9.6/10 |
| Terraria | PC, consoles, Mobile | Sandbox adventure | Enormous progression depth for a 2D sandbox, with years of free updates | 9.3/10 |
How to delete a game from your Steam library by uninstalling it
The standard uninstall route
Open the Steam client, click Library, right-click the game in the left-hand list, choose Manage, then choose Uninstall. Steam asks for confirmation and then removes the installed files. The game stays in your library as a greyed-out entry you can reinstall at any time, which is exactly what you want if you are only trying to reclaim drive space.
Uninstall from Windows settings instead
Steam games also appear in the Windows Installed apps list, and uninstalling from there hands the request back to Steam, so the result is identical. This is useful when the Steam client itself is misbehaving and will not open its own library correctly.
Clean up leftover files afterwards
Occasionally an uninstall leaves behind a folder inside steamapps/common, particularly for games with launchers or heavy mod folders. Deleting that folder manually is safe once the uninstall has finished. Save files often live outside the game folder in Documents or in Steam’s userdata directory, and if Steam Cloud is enabled for that title, deleting local saves will simply re-download them next launch. If you are uninstalling games purely to make room, it may be time to look at capacity instead, and our NVMe SSD buying guide covers what a modern library actually needs.
Hiding a game instead of deleting it
How to hide
Right-click the game, choose Manage, then Hide this game. It disappears from your library list without affecting your licence, your achievements or your playtime. To see hidden titles again, open the View menu and enable Hidden Games, then right-click and unhide.
Why hiding is usually the right answer
Hiding is reversible, costs nothing and solves the actual problem for most people, which is clutter rather than ownership. Bundle leftovers, region-locked oddities and games you finished years ago belong hidden, not deleted. You can also build Collections and drag titles into them, which gives you a curated library view without hiding anything.
Permanently removing a game from your Steam account
The Steam Support route
Go to Steam Support from the Help menu in the client, choose Games, Software, etc., select the game from your list, and look for the option to permanently remove it from your account. Steam will warn you clearly, and the removal is final. You lose the licence, the achievements and the playtime record, and you receive no money back.
When permanent removal is not offered
Some titles cannot be removed this way, typically games that arrived as part of a package or bundle, games with associated DLC still on the account, or titles with an active support ticket. In those cases the DLC usually needs removing first, and bundled entries may not be separable at all. Hiding is the only realistic option for those.
Refunds are a separate process
If your real goal is your money back rather than a tidy library, do not remove the game. Use the refund request flow in Steam Support instead, which for most purchases requires under two hours of playtime and a purchase within the last fourteen days. Removing the game first forfeits any chance of a refund. While you are auditing what you actually play, it is worth checking whether your hardware is the reason a game went unplayed; our budget graphics card buying guide and our gaming CPU buying guide both cover the components that most often cause abandoned installs.
Related library housekeeping
Removing non-Steam shortcuts
Games you added manually via Add a Non-Steam Game are removed differently: right-click the entry, choose Manage, then Remove non-Steam game shortcut. This deletes only the shortcut, never the actual application on your drive.
Family Sharing and family group entries
Titles appearing because someone shared their library with you are not yours to delete. Leave the family group or disable sharing on that device to clear them. They will vanish from your list without any permanent action on your part.
Uninstalling to move a game rather than lose it
If you are freeing space on one drive to install elsewhere, use the Move Install Folder option in the game’s Properties under Installed Files rather than uninstalling and redownloading. It preserves your files entirely. A faster drive here genuinely shortens load times, as covered in our SATA vs NVMe storage guide. If you are rebuilding the whole machine, our gaming PC power supply guide is a sensible next read, and long library-organising sessions are more pleasant with a proper desk setup as covered in our gaming desk buying guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does uninstalling a Steam game remove it from my library?
No. Uninstalling deletes the game files from your drive but leaves the licence attached to your account, so the title remains visible in your library as a greyed-out entry that you can reinstall at any time at no additional cost. Only the Steam Support removal process detaches the licence itself.
Can I get my money back if I permanently remove a game from my account?
No. Permanent removal through Steam Support deletes the licence without any refund, and doing so forfeits any refund eligibility you might still have had. If a refund is what you actually want, use Steam’s refund request process first, which generally applies to purchases under two hours of playtime made within the past fourteen days.
Will deleting a Steam game delete my save files?
Uninstalling usually leaves save data intact, either in your Documents folder, in Steam’s userdata directory, or in Steam Cloud. If the game supports Cloud saves and it is enabled, deleting local files simply causes them to re-download on your next launch, so disable Cloud sync for that title first if you genuinely want a clean slate.
Why is the permanent removal option missing for one of my games?
Some licences cannot be separated, most commonly games that came as part of a bundle or package, or titles that still have DLC attached to your account. Removing the DLC first sometimes unlocks the option, but for bundled entries the practical solution is to hide the game from your library view instead.
