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Steam now allows you to permanently remove games from your account.
- Thread starter Enter the Dragon Punch
- Start date
Seems like this would be a customer service nightmare for hacked accounts.
CertifiedFP
Member
On the other hand, wouldn't it be a red arrow pointing straight to the hacker if they transferred a victim's games to their own account?
In all likelihood they'd go to bot accounts that distribute this kind of stuff and it already ends up elsewhere on the grey market.
This already happens with inventory items. Games disappearing from hacked accounts would be a can of worms an order of magnitude larger.
FleetingFlowAir
Member
Bye DOTA 2. You made me realize that your genre isn't fit for me.
SmoothRunningGun
Member
I can't believe they spent a minute of development time on this.
AppleSeason
Member
It was my first ever Steam Christmas sale... Arkham Asylum was super cheap, but for a measly ten extra euros I could have the complete Eidos pack... Until I found this.
Time to give my "I hate these games" folder (now hidden) the NeverDead treatment. I had to throw that game to the trash since nobody ever wanted it, even as a gift.
Edit: Fuck
You can't individually remove games from publisher packs or bundles (so I'm guessing this applies to the Humbles before they started allowing to add the games separatelly. Not that useful as the crap I have usually comes from bundles, but feels good to get rid of Killer is Dead
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Now I can finally throw away bundle-filler games that I never asked for or wanted. This is awesome.
DOTA 2 is next.
DOTA 2 is next.
TerryLee81
Member
Time to remove this "Left 4 Dead Beta" and "Dota2 Test" things
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Man, I think I've seen it all. lol
It's a troll game people kept giving each other. There was a pony game that was the same.
OverdriveOtaku
Member
It doesn't seem that it would be an issue. I know the site says "permanently delete" but this seems to be just wording and not reality. Steam still keeps a tally of what games you have/had on your account apparently.
See this post:
Looks like you can get games back if you change your mind.
So in the end, this is more of a user-facing, quality-of-life convenience of not browsing through things you don't care for. I have a ton of games that came excess from bundles that I'll never touch, getting rid of a chunk of that from my library list makes things more pleasant.
TerryLee81
Member
So can I remove the non-director's cut Wasteland 2 now? Why would I need both versions?
RealityCheque
Banned
Hide in library is still the better option. No way I'm relinquishing the license for any game voluntarily.
Adam_Roman
Member
So long Plain Sight. I wasted $2.50 on you so long ago, but the pain is still fresh.
Atraveller
Banned
Disgusting
hooijdonk17
Member
Ok so I just looked at the games I own.. Only 85 of them, and nothing I want gone forever, though Sin Episodes - Episode 1 is kind of sticking out like a sore thumb in there. Still, it was the first non-Valve game on Steam, I think, so it's a piece of history..
This too. I have no idea why anyone asked for this and how Steam agreed to it. It's incredibly abusable. And if it doesn't really 'delete them', why not just make the option to hide them more intuitive instead? I guess this is just about being able to make sure they don't show up in your online profile?
I wish they would just let you change your login name instead of this.
This too. I have no idea why anyone asked for this and how Steam agreed to it. It's incredibly abusable. And if it doesn't really 'delete them', why not just make the option to hide them more intuitive instead? I guess this is just about being able to make sure they don't show up in your online profile?
I wish they would just let you change your login name instead of this.
Well, for me, as I said I needed it two times. In both of those cases I had to remove one steam sub so that I could activate another with slightly different features.
It's much better to have the feature than to not have it.
The Dear Leader
Banned
I wonder what would happen if someone got rid of a game that's been removed from Steam? Would they be able to get it back?
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Delisted games can still be downloaded, so based on some experiences shown in this thread, it appears that removing said delisted game from your library should be reversible, adding the delisted game back into your library.
Still a new feature that needs to be tested, but seems like these actions aren't really permanent.
When you "remove your game from your account," you are not deleting it from your computer. All you are doing is throwing your license away. In fact, after you do so, you have to manually remove the data from your computer.
So I would say, if you "permanently remove" a delisted game from your account, you can never get it back.
thesaucetastic
Unconfirmed Member
Finally can get rid of Team Fortress 2. Never had any intention of playing it.
Pheace
Member
Not going to happen, this would enable a digital second hand market where people start selling their games
OverdriveOtaku
Member
Alright, tested this out of pure curiosity IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE so YOU don't have to
*puts lab coat and goggles on*
I have a delisted game, Cart Life, which I already have a non-Steam version of the game regardless, so I went ahead and removed it from my account.
When I search the DELISTED game again to re-add it to my library, it *gasp* DOES NOT give me the option to bring it back.
However, Dust, a game I recently removed from my library that IS still listed as available through Steam, does give me a button to restore the game back to my library EVEN AFTER "PERMANENTLY" DELETING IT.
In conclusion: delisted games removed from library are likely not recoverable, but games still listed on Steam are likely recoverable even after "permanent" deletion (see post #207 for reference).
hooijdonk17
Member
A word of caution, a game that you "pemamently" delete from your library may have only a limited window of opportunity to reclaim, in case you feel any remorse or regret about the decision. I would strongly advise against not relying on being able to use this years, or even months or weeks down the line.. Steam needs to really clarify this.
UcchedavÄda
Member
Great.
Finally got rid of the Amnesia Fortnight Bundle (seven Double Fine game prototypes), which I had added to my account for inexplicable reasons. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can get rid of Batman: Arkham City without also removing B:AC GOTY, nor remove various (long dead) multi-player components without removing the single-player as well. But other than stuff like that, I don't think I want to remove anything.
Hopefully we'll get more fine-grained control over our accounts eventually, but this is a good start.
Finally got rid of the Amnesia Fortnight Bundle (seven Double Fine game prototypes), which I had added to my account for inexplicable reasons. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can get rid of Batman: Arkham City without also removing B:AC GOTY, nor remove various (long dead) multi-player components without removing the single-player as well. But other than stuff like that, I don't think I want to remove anything.
Hopefully we'll get more fine-grained control over our accounts eventually, but this is a good start.
It's a really good feature for us region-locked folks. I bought a lot of games when I lived in Ukraine and suddenly found half of my library region-locked when I moved to Cyprus.
The game is there, but I can't play it and I can't buy it. Had to write to tech support, took couple of weeks.
I imagine it could be abused though. Like angry spouse deleting Fallout 4
The game is there, but I can't play it and I can't buy it. Had to write to tech support, took couple of weeks.
I imagine it could be abused though. Like angry spouse deleting Fallout 4
Alright, tested this out of pure curiosity IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE so YOU don't have to
*puts lab coat and goggles on*
I have a delisted game, Cart Life, which I already have a non-Steam version of the game regardless, so I went ahead and removed it from my account.
When I search the DELISTED game again to re-add it to my library, it *gasp* DOES NOT give me the option to bring it back.
However, Dust, a game I recently removed from my library that IS still listed as available through Steam, does give me a button to restore the game back to my library EVEN AFTER "PERMANENTLY" DELETING IT.
In conclusion: delisted games removed from library are likely not recoverable, but games still listed on Steam are likely recoverable even after "permanent" deletion (see post #207 for reference).
Arkham City is a delisted game, too. The GOTY Edition is a separate game, technically.
It's a really good feature for us region-locked folks. I bought a lot of games when I lived in Ukraine and suddenly found half of my library region-locked when I moved to Cyprus.
The game is there, but I can't play it and I can't buy it. Had to write to tech support, took couple of weeks.
I imagine it could be abused though. Like angry spouse deleting Fallout 4
Valve will selectively disable runtime-level restrictions if you can prove that you've moved. That functionality is, in part, what lead to this stuff-up, and the introduction of the revamped store region selection system actually removed OARIC on pre-existing licences (I can now install/play Duck Dynasty with my usual IP, for example).
OverdriveOtaku
Member
But Arkham City has a version of itself that is still listed on Steam, while Cart Life, the game I experimented with, is purely delisted. Either way, the experiences are there to start getting an idea of what to expect until more details are given.
Turin Turambar
Member
Why would you repurchase a game you went to the trouble of eliminating permanently from your account?
I had all the proofs (worked for Blizzard at least), but Valve deleted my games instead of removing restrictions. With my permission of course.
It was two years ago, though.
Dog Problems
Banned
I am so happy about this. I've wanted to remove a large chunk of my library for a long time now.
Yeah, however Arkham City and Arkham City GOTY are two completely separate games as far as Steam is concerned.
Ah. Yeah, I'm not sure how long runtime restriction removals have been a thing.
Jzero
Member
wtf?
From https://help.steampowered.com, just log-in and select Games, Software, etc., select the game from the search function that shows up, and select I want to permanently remove this game from my account.
Pic unrelated. I'm only getting rid of Vegas Make It Big.
HolyBaikal can now finally be free of Saints Row 3.
Will be interesting to see if this has any effect on SteamSpy, and if Sony/MS follow suit here.
Remove me if old
Pic unrelated? That's an abortion joke if I ever saw one!
Tomasoares
Member
I wish I could transform those games into cards