Steam – Does “Delete Local Content…” also delete mods and other third-party files

steam

I'm about to uninstall and reinstall a Steam game. Unfortunately, while I have mods and other user files mixed within the game's own folder, the game files themselves take up a ton of space so I'd rather not have to back up all its contents before uninstalling.

Will the "Delete Local Content…" option delete everything in a game's folder, or will it preserve third-party files? If it doesn't preserve third-party files, it looks like I'll have to back them up manually.

In case it matters, the game I'm uninstalling is Team Fortress 2. Apparently, major updates have a bad habit of borking my game.

Best Answer

Depends on the game.

I've got no experience with TF2, but CS:Source — which uses same engine and should have similar directory layout. In case of CS:S, "Delete local content" did remove all mods.

Another game I've tried with were S.T.A.L.K.E.R series. All mods were also deleted in that case.

I'm guessing it really depends if mods are installed in same directory as game, or does game have separate directory for mods.

Steps

Log into Steam Support
Select Games, Software, etc.,
Select the game from the search function that shows up
Select the option: I want to permanently remove this game from my account.
Select the option: Ok, remove the listed games from my account permanently.
Repeat as many times as you have games you'd like to get rid of.

You can browse over your entire library and choose which software you'd like to permanently get rid of. But note, once you have removed a game from your library, it's gone permanently, so if later down the road you'd like it back you'll have to purchase it again.

You'll also need to watch out for some other issues. The thread linked above has noted that if the game is part of a bundle (HumbleBundle, etc.), removing one game from a "package" may require you to remove all the games from that specific bundle.

Steam – Can’t uninstall games with “Delete local content”

Try redownloading Steam. If that does not work, there is a directory where most of the Portal 2 game files are located. Navigate to:

~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/portal 2/

Then, delete the "portal 2" inside /common/, the whole folder, not "portal2" in the "portal 2" folder.

One warning here, OS X 10.7 and above hide the Library folder in your Home (user) folder. This is different from Libraries and different from Library in the top level of your drive. To permanently show the Library folder, use Terminal:

chflags nohidden ~/Library/

Alternatively, one may hold option while in the Go menu and click on Library, or use the Go To... command in Go and type ~/Library/. This is only temporary.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Steam – How to Remove a Steam Game from Your Library

Steps

Steam – Can’t uninstall games with “Delete local content”

Related Topic