How to install older versions of Beat Saber using Steam

You can downgrade your Beat Saber installation to any released version directly from Steam using this guide.

Introduction

Not many people know, but you can revert any Steam game to any update publicly released over the course of its existence. Snapshots of the game content are saved in the Steam database and can be retrieved at any time, no local backups are necessary.

For some people, sudden big updates may mean the breakage of mods or other user-created content. Depending on the amount of code changes in an update, some mods can stay broken and unpatched for extended periods of time. It may also be interesting to see what older versions looked like, and their unique features or bugs (if any).

The following guide will show how to do this specifically for Beat Saber. Hopefully it is useful in addition to update-blocking methods.

Notes:

• This method will only work if you own the game on Steam, otherwise the commands provided here will fail.
  
• Unlike many others, this specific method does NOT require to input your Steam credentials anywhere during the process, as it utilizes the built-in Steam console of your official Steam client!

1. Choosing the version to download

In order to downgrade we first need to know what version we want to install. Version numbers (1.0.0, 1.1.0 etc.) are not used in the Steam database, so we have to refer to dates and Manifest IDs instead. Extended tables in this Guide should help you pick the needed version without having to guess.

• Refer to the tables below (or alternatively, if there's a new version not listed there then check this list[steamdb.info] on SteamDB).
  
• Choose the version you want and memorize its corresponding Manifest ID - we will be using it next.

You can click highlighted items to read patchnotes.

1.1. Recent Versions

Date	Version	Manifest ID
6 May 2024 – 12:56:07 UTC	1.36.2	4832237377879752064
9 April 2024 – 14:45:50 UTC	1.36.0	8533509040167838423
7 March 2024 – 15:46:35 UTC	1.35.0	1490986193481243578
16 February 2024 – 13:51:13 UTC	1.34.6	4398761375819224126
12 February 2024 – 13:52:38 UTC	1.34.5	7413405154512822201
11 December 2023 – 15:51:33 UTC	1.34.2	8045892568861450718
5 December 2023 – 15:46:57 UTC	1.34.0	3651119791147907495
30 October 2023 – 14:45:36 UTC	1.33.0	706865160400890715
5 October 2023 – 14:54:40 UTC	1.32.0	1660149393914874041
28 August 2023 – 10:00:38 UTC	1.31.1	5239818041644201119
29 June 2023 – 14:51:20 UTC	1.31.0	676582354127623831
13 June 2023 – 14:51:06 UTC	1.30.2	8042804988990059618
24 May 2023 – 21:36:54 UTC	1.30.0	7304715857122259127
3 May 2023 – 15:11:46 UTC	1.29.4	6291266771922375922
4 April 2023 – 15:20:57 UTC	1.29.1	886973241045584398
30 March 2023 – 14:45:01 UTC	1.29.0	3341527958186345367
28 February 2023 – 15:46:08 UTC	1.28.0	7463243155526905423
13 December 2022 – 15:50:13 UTC	1.27.0	3485516174915301618
8 November 2022 – 15:47:41 UTC	1.26.0	3634450655207470002
13 October 2022 – 14:50:23 UTC	1.25.1	7372469314660649150
6 October 2022 – 14:46:01 UTC	1.25.0	4529582051007915041
14 July 2022 – 14:58:32 UTC	1.24.0	649695825989344999
14 June 2022 – 14:57:54 UTC	1.23.0	8051970117665729770
19 May 2022 – 11:57:58 UTC	1.22.1	3771211058784167267
5 May 2022 – 15:47:39 UTC	1.22.0	4038188869828689801
31 March 2022 – 14:12:22 UTC	1.21.0	3648558848715327622
8 March 2022 – 15:58:18 UTC	1.20.0	4202491068770948196
14 February 2022 – 13:06:39 UTC 9 February 2022 – 10:55:34 UTC (as RC4)	1.19.1	1175216641760077721
10 December 2021 – 04:01:30 UTC	1.19.0	8948172000430595334
4 November 2021 – 10:53:50 UTC	1.18.3	6558821762131072991
25 October 2021 – 14:49:43 UTC	1.18.2	6835596583028648427
6 October 2021 – 16:41:26 UTC 5 October 2021 – 16:15:19 UTC (as RC)	1.18.1	8961661233382948062
21 September 2021 – 14:41:49 UTC	1.18.0	5599254819160454367
9 September 2021 – 14:55:02 UTC	1.17.1	4668547658954826996
31 August 2021 – 14:43:39 UTC	1.17.0	7826684224434229804
26 July 2021 – 15:36:39 UTC 22 July 2021 – 17:17:47 UTC (as RC)	1.16.4	8820433629543698585
20 July 2021 – 17:05:23 UTC	1.16.3	6392596175313869009
10 June 2021 – 13:55:24 UTC 4 June 2021 – 15:07:53 UTC (as RC2)	1.16.2	3692829915208062825
28 May 2021 – 15:52:08 UTC	1.16.1	9201874499606445062
27 May 2021 – 14:52:30 UTC	1.16.0	3667184295685865706
29 April 2021 – 14:57:36 UTC	1.15.0	7624554893344753887
18 March 2021 – 13:44:36 UTC	1.14.0	9218225910501819399

​1.2. Older Versions

Date	Version	Manifest ID
12 March 2021 – 14:23:00 UTC	1.13.5	7007516983116400336
9 March 2021 – 13:54:44 UTC	1.13.4	1257277263145069282
21 January 2021 – 14:15:25 UTC	1.13.2	8571679771389514488
12 November 2020 – 14:00:38 UTC	1.13.0	4635119747389290346
19 October 2020 – 16:50:57 UTC	1.12.2	543439039654962432
13 October 2020 – 17:01:04 UTC	1.12.1	2928416283534881313
20 August 2020 – 16:28:32 UTC	1.11.1	3268824881806146387
17 August 2020 – 12:03:07 UTC	1.11.0	1919603726987963829
25 May 2020 – 12:32:11 UTC	1.10.0	6711131863503994755
5 May 2020 – 09:32:31 UTC	1.9.1	6222769774084748916
9 April 2020 – 12:41:25 UTC	1.9.0	7885463693258878294
26 March 2020 – 12:27:34 UTC	1.8.0	3177969677109016846
29 January 2020 – 12:40:33 UTC	1.7.0	3516084911940449222
9 January 2020 – 20:19:21 UTC	1.6.2	4932559146183937357
7 January 2020 – 17:47:38 UTC	1.6.1	6122319670026856947
13 December 2019 – 08:21:10 UTC	1.6.0	1869974316274529288
November 7, 2019 – 15:58:59 UTC	1.5.0	2831333980042022356
October 11, 2019 – 09:36:58 UTC	1.4.2	1199049250928380207
October 4, 2019 – 16:11:04 UTC	1.4.0	3532596684905902618
August 29, 2019 – 17:12:22 UTC	1.3.0	2440312204809283162
July 25, 2019 – 18:26:46 UTC	1.2.0	3820905673516362176
July 15, 2019 – 13:27:12 UTC	1.1.0p1	1041583928494277430
June 10, 2019 – 16:03:43 UTC	1.1.0	1400454104881094752
May 27, 2019 – 13:55:54 UTC	1.0.1	7950322551526208347
May 21, 2019 – 20:52:46 UTC	1.0.0	152937782137361764
April 4, 2019 – 12:42:16 UTC	0.13.2	6839388023573913446
April 1, 2019 – 20:35:39 UTC	0.13.1	6033025349617217666
March 19, 2019 – 17:27:41 UTC	0.13.0p1	6827433614670733798
March 14, 2019 – 14:57:45 UTC	0.13.0	3102409495238838111
December 21, 2018 – 09:04:35 UTC	0.12.2	5325635033564462932
December 14, 2018 – 19:57:11 UTC	0.12.1	2472041066434647526
November 28, 2018 – 21:56:53 UTC	0.12.0p1	2068421223689664394
November 27, 2018 – 01:11:44 UTC	0.12.0	6094599000655593822
August 20, 2018 – 17:15:57 UTC	0.11.2	2707973953401625222
July 20, 2018 – 21:06:22 UTC	0.11.1	6574193224879562324
July 19, 2018 – 18:06:18 UTC	0.11.0	8700049030626148111
May 20, 2018 – 12:23:14 UTC	0.10.2p1	5611588554149133260
May 10, 2018 – 22:10:19 UTC	0.10.2	2542095265882143144
May 1, 2018 – 16:01:23 UTC	0.10.1? (initial release)	6316038906315325420

1.3. Experimental Versions

Some experimental versions of Beat Saber, previously found in Public Beta branches, can be seen below. These follow chronological order but they may not necessarily be a successor of one another.

Date	Version	Manifest ID
24 April 2023 – 09:00:45 UTC	OpenXR Beta	8618396706007674506
14 April 2023 – 15:00:37 UTC	OpenXR Alpha 2	1829073560758833583
22 March 2023 – 13:59:32 UTC	OpenXR Alpha 1	7451458216441819087
15 November 2022 – 17:40:44 UTC	1.26.1 Beta	1251433115430405795
30 August 2022 – 15:22:06 UTC	1.25.0 RC2	3141359577983993890
30 August 2022 – 14:56:00 UTC	1.25.0 RC1	3684718000373511599
5 May 2022 – 15:41:34 UTC	1.22.0 RC2	2444647800492773078
5 May 2022 – 14:55:57 UTC	1.22.0 RC1	3127490762128419443
28 February 2022 – 16:57:17 UTC	1.20.0 RC1	7544910552308977013
3 February 2022 – 16:49:23 UTC	1.19.1 RC3	6695934593516653206
21 January 2022 – 14:41:03 UTC	1.19.1 RC2	3400399060417199651
21 December 2021 – 14:54:23 UTC	1.19.1 RC1	6504575834439294596
15 July 2021 – 18:00:11 UTC	1.16.3 RC1	359870355216685341
3 June 2021 – 17:06:24 UTC	1.16.2 RC1	8138074968751658813
24 March 2020 – 18:22:42 UTC	1.8.0 RC3	6406030817654977349
23 March 2020 – 20:32:44 UTC	1.8.0 RC2	5034868045536418671
25 February 2020 – 18:20:02 UTC	1.8.0 RC1	7895726645002193553
5 December 2019 – 14:39:38 UTC	1.6.0 Beta	1558719508179518807
20 August 2019 – 19:53:26 UTC	1.3.0 Beta	754277321799466058
4 June 2019 – 11:53:37 UTC	1.1.0 Beta	7328426073746555634
27 May 2019 – 09:33:43 UTC	1.0.1 RC2	7961522920183992795
22 May 2019 – 10:01:18 UTC	1.0.1 RC1	21808000064636298
28 March 2019 – 12:03:12 UTC	0.13.1 Beta	2479716787273789866
19 March 2019 – 09:48:46 UTC	0.13.0p1 RC4	1734028250351204547
19 March 2019 – 09:13:06 UTC	0.13.0p1 RC3	5229520613372353827
18 March 2019 – 23:14:21 UTC	0.13.0p1 RC2	7517656838619538465
18 March 2019 – 14:41:42 UTC	0.13.0p1 RC1	25913810314273081
1 December 2018 – 12:14:32 UTC	0.12.1 Beta	4435387545491908757
6 June 2018 – 15:50:19 UTC	0.11.0 Beta	8892605455517437772
4 May 2018 – 07:39:18 UTC	0.10.2 Beta	7674013830649003337

2. Accessing the Steam Console

In order to access the Steam Console, press Win+R, then enter steam://open/console and press OK.

3. Starting the download

Now that we are in the Steam Console, we can start the download of the version you have chosen. Below is an example for version 1.29.1. The command you need to paste into the form at the bottom will look as follows (where the last number is your ID):

download_depot 620980 620981 886973241045584398

It will initiate the download. The progress will not be visible (other than by the "Network Usage" in your library downloads tab) but it should continue in background until you get the following:


Keep note of the folder path after the words "Depot download complete". That is where the downloaded files are.

(Also ignore any additional random messages you may get before that, they are for debugging purposes and don't affect the download)

4. Managing the downloaded content

Now that the download is complete, perform the following:

• Copy the resulting path you got in the console and paste it into the Windows Explorer's address bar (example above). *
  
• You can now select and copy the files.
  
• Go up the directory tree, back to steamapps. Then open common -> Beat Saber.
• Perform clean-up (don't skip this step, especially if going below 1.29.4!):
  
  • Make backup copies of "Beat Saber_Data\CustomLevels", "DLC" (if you own any) and "UserData" somewhere on your PC (which you can restore later)
    
  • Clear all contents of the Beat Saber directory. Your mods will be removed and can be reinstalled later, but this should prevent obscure issues from occurring.
• Now paste the downloaded files into the Beat Saber directory, accepting the overwrite prompt.

You have now downgraded the game.

If you had mods for older versions, and you have a renamed folder with them (e.g. "Old 1.5.0 Plugins"), you can rename it back to Plugins after downgrading to that version, and then run IPA.exe once to reinstall the patches.
Alternatively, just open your mod manager and select the version you've downgraded to, downloading and installing your mods again.

* This is the entire installation of the game at the time of that version (and not just the update's changes). Do NOT run the EXE from the "depot_620981" folder directly -- Steam will shut down this attempt and automatically restart the game from the main directory/exe which probably still has the latest version.

Troubleshooting

The "Play" button does not work after downgrading

This is caused by ScoreSaber and normally means that it no longer supports the version you downgraded to. ScoreSaber usually works only on very recent patches (i.e. the previous update before latest one). You cannot submit scores, and there is no way to enable them. Either delete ScoreSaber or use the "Practice" button to play instead.

Known major breakages: in 1.16.1 the replay API was updated, hard-breaking older versions, while 1.29.4 changed the game from OpenVR to OpenXR.

Black screen, freeze, crash after downgrading

This may be because:

• You have some incompatible mod or library installed (possibly a left-over from the previous version you had) or the folder structure has changed such that some excess files produce problems. Try performing the "clean-up" step above;
  
• Your user data is too new and not supported by older versions. You will have to backup and clear it. It is located in %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Hyperbolic Magnetism\Beat Saber

Unfortunately there is no config-converter tool for downgrading your PlayerData and settings at the moment. However, the format does not change often, so usually you shouldn't have to do this.

Additional material

Video tutorial based on this Guide by nerrd on YouTube:

More methods on downgrading Beat Saber and blocking updates can be found here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2263141699
Downgrading any Steam game through Depot Downloader:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2353930763
If you want even more control over your game, and to learn more convenient methods on downgrading your game, you can join the Beat Saber Legacy Group on Discord[discord.gg]. Note that the Group is not associated with this Steam Guide in any way. Be sure to read their rules very carefully!

[drhiggins117]

cool
'

[Skorpyplay]

theres a 8 missing at the end of the 1.35.0 manifestid.
so it should be: 1490986193481243578

[Nami]

If Your user data is too new and not supported by older versions, sometimes it doesn't just crash, but it doesn't let you play either, the game opens and none of the play buttons work, you can't play from practise either, i had this issue and fixed it by trying the "Black screen, freeze, crash after downgrading troubleshoot" even though my game never crashed or had blackscreen!

[Snickers.VR.177]

every time i download a older version, why do I have to use the code?

[APerson]

dlc file might just be outdated or its for a higher version idk

[Alcachofa]

You are a god, thank you friend for the solution to the update problems that were killing the game.
I just have a question, a dlc song gives me an error when loading, do you know if there is a solution?
Again thank you very much!!

[Lil Sledge Yuh]

I followed this guide to a T (I hope) and now everytiome I load beat sabre it load into a completely black environment but steam acts as if beat sabre is playing normallly and i can open my vr menu and do stuff in it,. Any idea why this is happening?

[JO]

I followed the steps once and was successful but the next time the game updated I went to do it again, but steam wont download any of the older versions. It says it's downloading but just says "Downloading depot 620981 (911 MB) ... " and wont go any further

[Frank D Firefighter]

thanks for the usefull info, after my custom songs disapeered i stopped playing beatsaber completely since you cant play anything else then the default songs since no one on my friendlist bother about the overpriced packs anyway

[StepS]

@Crystal
Good call, I thought about the same thing recently. This should also make it easier for people to manage their backups.
I'll add it soon.