Stop updating game(s) all together.

[antanarihu]

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/71AB-698D-57EB-178C#disable

"If you'd like to stop Steam from automatically updating a game, select "Only update this game when I launch it" from the game's Library page > Properties > Updates."

See, I've always been wondering if I could block a game from being updated at all. Apparently, this automatic updating business has the potential to overwrite some mods in some games, as far as I've been told, and I'd like to avoid that. And then I've come across this sentence in the support pages. However, it's the "Only update this game when I launch it"-part that gets to me.

"...WHEN I launch it". How about no?

Is there a way to effectively stop STEAM from updating a game AT ALL AT ANY GIVEN TIME, unless I specifically tell it to?

[ReBoot]

Nope. The moment you want to start the game, Steam wants to update it.

[antanarihu]

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Nope. The moment you want to start the game, Steam wants to update it.

See, I really dreaded this reply, because it's knowing things like this that makes my braincells hemorrhage aggressively outta every orifice in my cranium. Due to the sheer STEAM-driven stupidity of it.

Not that I'm blaiming you, of course. Never shoot the messenger or kick him down a well in Sparta, right?

[ReBoot]

Steam's been like that since day 1 of Steam which was about 10 years ago. Just sayin'.

[MagicMight]

Offline mode is the easy way to bypass the need for updating because the client will allow you to launch the game as long as you have not started the update. But if the game has any kind of online component this will not work.

Alternatively - edit appmanifest file of the corresponding game to make steam think the game is updated.

Last one - an easier solution than the previous one but performed in a very roundabout manner: copy your game folder elsewhere, update game, then copy the previous game version back to the original install path. The game will still be 'updated' and work just fine.

[lightwo]

Valve have recently made it even easier to launch outdated games, presumably due to Steam Deck. Here's how you can do it:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2925299592

[Orionsangel]

When you have a huge game collection Steam always has like 50 or more games line for updating. Each game updates at a different speed depending on the size of the update. This slows down your PC. There should be an option on Steam to disable automatic updating for all games. A setting where Steam games only update when you start up the game. A prompt should appear that say, An update is available. You then proceed to update the game. Xbox Series X has an option to do this and it's a smart way to do it. I know this exist on Steam, but you have to set the option one by one for each game in your collection. When you have more than a thousand games it's a tedious slow process.

[Wren]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.