Every game you purchase on Steam will belong to that specific account, and they can’t be transferred across accounts. When you purchase a game on Steam, it will automatically be added to your Steam library.
This happens regardless of whether you choose to install the game. For free games that don’t require purchasing, the game will appear in your Steam library if you choose to play them.
How to remove a game from your Steam library
Your Steam library can become cluttered quite quickly due to this feature. You may wish to remove some games you no longer wish to have, or you may simply wish to hide uninstalled games for a neater library interface.
There are two ways to get rid of games from your Steam library. You can either permanently remove them from your account, or hide them in your library.
Permanently Removing Games from Steam Client
We’ll first cover how you can remove games from your Steam library. This is the more detrimental method of getting rid of games from your library.
Removing a game means that you’ll no longer have access to it. You can add them back to your library by playing them again.
Simply search for the game on the Steam store, and click on the game to open their store page. Then, click the ‘play game’ option to add them back to your Steam library. Steam will routinely update your games as needed.
Keep in mind that you can only remove free games from your Steam library. There’s no option for removing purchased games from your Steam library. The best you can do is request a refund for the game.
This can only be done if no more than two weeks have passed since you bought the game. The game must also have less than 2 hours of playtime.
If you’re granted a refund for the game, you’ll no longer own it so it’ll be removed from your Steam library.
In order to remove games from your Steam library, open up your Steam client. Click on the ‘library’ tab to access your Steam library.
Locate the game you wish to remove and right-click on it. Make sure that the game has been uninstalled prior to this step.
You can’t remove games that are currently installed on your device. To uninstall the game, right-click the game in your Steam library. Hover over ‘manage’ and click ‘uninstall’.
Once the game is uninstalled, right-click it again in your Steam library. Then, hover over ‘manage’ and select ‘remove from account’.
A prompt should appear asking you to confirm the removal. Click ‘remove’ to continue. The removal process should then commence.
Once the process is finished, the game should no longer be in your library. Try searching for the game in the search bar to check whether the removal was successful.
How to hide games in your Steam library
If you want a more temporary and reversible method of removing games from your Steam library, you can simply choose to hide your games.
You can easily unhide the games if you change your mind, and the process can be done with any Steam game.
This includes Steam games you purchased. Hiding a game will make it invisible in your library. It will also no longer appear if you try to search for it in the search bar.
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However, there will be a hidden option that appears when you try searching for a hidden game. Click on the ‘hidden’ option to reveal the hidden game.
To hide your Steam games, first launch the Steam app. Then, open your Steam library by clicking the ‘library’ tab near the top of the screen.
Once you’ve opened your Steam library, look for the game you want to hide. When you’ve found the game, right-click on it. Hover over the ‘manage’ option, and select ‘hide this game’.
The game should no longer be visible in your library. If you want to unhide the game, search for it in the search bar. Click the hidden option that appears to reveal the game.
Then, right-click on the game and hover over the ‘manage’ option. Click ‘remove from hidden’ to unhide the game.
If you want to save storage space, then deleting the game completely may be a better idea. However, hiding games is a great alternative if you think you’ll come back and play that game later down the line.
It’s also a good idea to think about hidden games if you’ve purchased the game, as you would have to re-purchase that game for your Steam library if you ever wanted to play it again.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are two ways to remove a game from your Steam library. You can permanently remove a game from your account if it’s a free game or if you’re having problems with it.
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Or, you can hide games from view in your Steam library. You can do this for both free and purchased games. You can also unhide the game if you happen to change your mind.
