How to stop Steam auto-updating a game

1. Set “Wait until I launch the game”

This stops Steam downloading updates in the background. It's per game:

1. In your Steam Library, right-click the game (or click the gear icon on its page) and choose Properties.
2. Open Updates.
3. Under Automatic Updates, choose Wait until I launch the game. Older clients and Steam Support call it “Only update this game when I launch it”.

To make it the default for every game: Steam → Settings → Downloads → Updates to installed games and pick Wait until I launch the game. Manage exceptions next to it lists any game set differently. While you're there, turn off Allow downloads during gameplay.

The catch: pressing Play in Steam installs the update first, and Steam won't start the old version. The next two steps get around that.

2. Launch through your mod loader, not Steam

Many modded games are started through a loader anyway: skse64_loader.exe (Skyrim SE), f4se_loader.exe (Fallout 4), sfse_loader.exe (Starfield), Mod Organizer 2, or a desktop shortcut. With the update set to wait, starting the game this way usually skips Steam's update step, because Steam only applies the queued update when you press Play in the client.

It's not guaranteed. Some games relaunch through Steam, and Steam may still start a queued download. If it matters, go offline first.

3. Play in Offline Mode

PCGamingWiki calls Offline Mode the only built-in way to play without taking an update. Set it up before the patch lands:

1. Sign in with Remember my password ticked.
2. Launch the game once while online so Steam has a valid ticket for it.
3. Choose Steam → Go Offline… and restart into Offline Mode.

If the library button says Update while you're offline, Steam usually lets you launch the installed version instead. When you go back online, a game set to “Wait until I launch the game” still won't update until you press Play.

Limits: multiplayer, the Workshop and cloud saves don't sync offline. Games with their own launcher or online DRM (for example the Rockstar launcher for GTA V) may still need internet.

4. Steam Deck

• Update setting: select the game in your library, press the gear icon → Properties → Updates and choose Wait until I launch the game. Game Versions & Betas is in the same menu.
• Offline Mode: while still online, launch the game once, then press the Steam button → Settings → Internet → Enter Offline Mode. Older SteamOS builds also had “Go Offline” in the Power menu.
• Backups: in Desktop Mode the games live in ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/. Games on a microSD card are under /run/media/.
• SteamOS updates are separate. They can break Decky Loader and its plugins. ModSafe tracks that on the Steam Deck page.

5. Switch to an older version (Game Versions & Betas)

Some developers keep previous versions on Steam. Open Properties → Game Versions & Betas (“Betas” on older clients) and pick one. Steam downloads that version and won't move you off it until you switch back. These branches existed on Steam on Oct 26, 2026, with no password needed:

No rollback branch: Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Starfield, Elden Ring, Grand Theft Auto V Legacy, Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Palworld, Monster Hunter Wilds. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020), Satisfactory and R.E.P.O. only offer a beta (newer) branch. For those games, back up before patches or use download_depot.

Saves made on a newer version may not load on an older one, and your frameworks must match the version you pick. Check the release notes on each game's ModSafe page.

6. Roll back with the Steam console (download_depot)

Steam can download any older build of a game you own. This is the method PCGamingWiki documents:

1. Find the game's app ID, the depot ID holding the game files, and the manifest ID of the build you want. The game's Depots → Manifests page on SteamDB lists them by date, for example Cyberpunk 2077's depots.
2. Open the console: paste steam://open/console (or steam://nav/console) into your browser's address bar or Win+R and let it open Steam.
3. Run download_depot <appid> <depotid> <manifestid> and wait for “Depot download complete”. It reports the folder, inside steamapps\content\app_<appid>\depot_<depotid>.
4. Move those files out of Steam's folder (Steam can clean it up), then copy them over a copy of your game folder. Repeat for each depot that changed.
5. Play from that copy in Offline Mode or through your loader so Steam doesn't “fix” it. Some games need a steam_appid.txt with the app ID next to the .exe to run outside the Steam folder.

DepotDownloader does the same thing outside Steam. It's an open-source command-line tool, 3.4.0 at the time of writing, from SteamRE/DepotDownloader (also winget install --exact --id SteamRE.DepotDownloader):

DepotDownloader -app <appid> -depot <depotid> -manifest <manifestid> -username <you> -dir old-version

DepotDownloader needs your Steam login. Use -qr to sign in by scanning a QR code with the Steam mobile app. Download it only from the official GitHub page. Neither method works for games you don't own.

7. Back up your game folder

A backup is the only rollback that works for every game. Do it before patch day:

1. Right-click the game → Manage → Browse local files. On Windows that's usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\<Game>.
2. Copy the whole folder somewhere outside steamapps.
3. Also copy your mod manager's data (the Mod Organizer 2 instance or Vortex staging folder) and your saves, usually in Documents\My Games or %LOCALAPPDATA%.
4. To restore after an unwanted patch, go offline and copy the backup back over the game folder.

What about the read-only appmanifest trick?

Old guides suggest making steamapps\appmanifest_<appid>.acf read-only (or using chattr +i on Linux and Steam Deck) so Steam thinks the game is current. Recent Steam clients overwrite or ignore it, and players still report games updating anyway. Don't rely on it. Use Offline Mode and a backup instead.