How to Fix Steam Uninstalled My Game Automatically [PC Solutions]

Jaden updated on Aug 15, 2024 to Data Recovery Solution | How-to Articles

One of the most typical situations is Steam presenting installed games as uninstalled. This issue happens when the Steam Client fails to recognize your game files and reports them uninstalled. However, the games are not entirely uninstalled because they can be fixed using various methods without downloading them again.

Steam is a video game distribution platform that also provides storefront services. It offers customers automated game updates, saved game cloud synchronization, and community services like friends messaging and in-game chat.

However, it frequently encounters issues such as the failed to load error, Steam quitting unexpectedly, and "Steam uninstalled my game," detailed in this post.

Do you guys have any idea why Steam uninstalls some games automatically? Cause this is the 3rd time Steam uninstalled my Left 4 Dead 2!

- From Steam Community

Without a doubt, the Steam platform connects millions of people to resource-intensive games at dizzying speeds every day. As a result, the popularity of Steam may occasionally be to blame for its servers' incapacity to handle the volume of incoming requests.

Solution 1. Recover Deleted Game Files with Software

If a virus attacks your computer, the game may crash, display an error, or close during setup or play. Your Steam probably leads to the servers' incapacity to occasionally manage the volume of incoming requests and then uninstall your games automatically.

Thus, the most suggested approach for restoring lost Steam game files is to use professional data recovery software. If you have a game file backup, you can rapidly recover your game saves on your PC.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is software designed to recover damaged, corrupted, or missing game data. It provides customers with a simple and all-inclusive method for recovering erased files due to unforeseen problems, system failures, and so on.

  • 🔨Effectively recover or repair deleted files and unsaved data from unexpectedly quit apps.
  • 🗑️Recover an empty Recycle Bin, unsaved Steam, a USB drive, and other storage devices like a digital camera.
  • 👁️‍🗨️Data recovery assistance for uninstallation, force quitting, virus attacks, system crashes, and malware difficulties.

It is important to remember that most of the time, this is due to not properly closing off Steam or utilizing an external hard drive. Or if there is an impending hardware failure or corrupted data on the device as a result of other problems. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can assist you in resolving the Steam game deleted itself a problem.

You can refer to the following steps:

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Choose the drive where you lost files and start scanning by clicking "Search for Lost Data". This software allows you to recover lost data from all devices, including HDD, SSD, USB drive, SD card, pen drive, camera, etc.

Step 2. Browse the full scan results. You can choose the file type you need by clicking on the file type filter. EaseUS data recovery software supports 1000+ file types like photos, videos, documents, emails, audio files, and many more. 

Step 3. Select the files you want to preview. Click "Recover" and set a storage location or Cloud drive to save the recovered data. 

Solution 2. Verify the Integrity of Game Files

In this part, we need to return the uninstall games to your Steam by setting in the "Library". Therefore, we prepared a video tutorial for you to follow:

  • 00: 08 - Introduction
  • 00: 23 - Add Steam Library Folder
  • 00: 37 - Add Library Folder

When Steam considers a game to be uninstalled, it may disappear from your PC even if it was not erased manually. If you try to reinstall it, Steam will begin a process to locate lost files, which will take a fraction of the time recovering uninstalled programs would typically take.

If your games are still causing problems on Steam, you can try this method. The quick procedure will determine whether any files are missing.

Step 1. Launch Steam and go to the "Library" on your device.

Step 2. On the left side, right-click on the name of the lost Hogwarts Legacy and select "Properties."

Step 3. Check the "Verify Integrity of Game Cache" by clicking "local files" and selecting it from the drop-down menu in the Properties box.

It should be noted that if the game's Steamapps or common folder are missing, you can reinstall the game manually. Steam games loaded on multiple HDs will also result in this predicament if one HD fails to sync properly or loses connection.

 

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Solution 3. Modify Appmanifest File

The appmanifest file is located in the Steamapps folder and contains information on the location of the Steam game. However, your antivirus software may damage or corrupt it, which may identify it as a harmful file. It may result in the Steam game being uninstalled at random. You can remedy this issue by updating the appmanifest file as described below.

Step 1. Select "Open file location" from the context menu when you right-click on the Steam shortcut icon.

Step 2. Locate and double-click the Steamapps folder within the Steam folder.

Step 3. Navigate to the "appmanifest_X.acf" file. Here, X denotes the game ID, which varies from game to game.

✍️Note: If you're unsure which ID represents which game, you can look it up on the steamdb details page. You will be provided with the essential information.

Step 3. Right-click the "appmanifest_X.acf" file and choose "Open" with > "Notepad".

Step 4. Press the Ctrl + F keys together in Notepad to activate the "Find" window.

Step 5. Enter installdir into the text box next to "Find" what and press the "Find Next" button.

Step 6. Once you've found installdir, replace the text there with the name of the game's folder.

The game's folder is in this location: C: Program Files (x86)Steamsteamappscommon. All games can be found here.

Step 7. Finally, you can run your Steam app from the Windows Search bar to see whether your games are back.

Let us learn more ways to fix Steam uninstalled my game. What's more, don't forget to mark this passage by sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or SNS.

 

Solution 4. Add a New Steam Library Folder

One of the most common reasons for this problem is when Steam deletes your Steam Library folder from its Content Libraries, causing the client to fail to detect your game and eventually declare it removed. You could attempt this option if you installed the games to a different installation library/folder than the main Steam library. You can do so by following the steps outlined below:

Step 1. Sign in to your Steam account and go to "Steam" > "Settings" > "Downloads".

Step 2. Click the "Steam Library Folders" button to bring up a window that displays all of your current Steam Library folders.

Step 3. Click the "Add Library Folder" option and navigate to the location where you want to save the installed games.

After adding the new Steam library folder, you can see if the Steam games uninstalled randomly are fixed.

 

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Summary

We hope this tutorial was useful and that you were able to resolve the Steam uninstalled game problem. After restarting the Steam application to verify its functions, you can also go to the Applications folder and delete the Steam folder or reinstall the game. When you come across a random deletion, don't forget to secure your game data! EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can be of assistance.

Steam Uninstalled My Game FAQs

Here are 4 additional questions about fixing the "Steam uninstalled my game" issue. Check here for the answers.

1. What happens if a Steam game gets deleted?

Your Steam library drive isn't connected to some games. They should be marked as uninstalled. If you uninstall free games, they will no longer appear. While your stored files will be kept, they will be inaccessible until you restore them.

2. How do I re-download a deleted game on Steam?

Step 1. Open the Steam app on your computer and navigate to Library.

Step 2. Scroll through your game list and choose whatever game you wish to reinstall.

Step 3. Navigate to the game's Steam page by clicking it, and then click the big blue Install button.

3. Where do Steam deleted files go?

Games installed on Steam are stored by default in the area 'C:\\Program Files\\Steam\\steamapps\\,' and if you delete the game files using the 'Delete' key, the deleted game files will go to your Windows PC's Recycle Bin.

4. Does uninstalling a game on Steam remove mods?

No, simply uninstalling the game will merely remove the vanilla game files. The mod files will all be kept in the game's directory. To perform a clean uninstall, first uninstall the game, then delete all mod files in the game's directory.