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How to hide unwanted games in your Steam library

A long-awaited addition to the Steam client helps you organize your games list by removing unwanted entries.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read

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Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Tired of all the clutter in your Steam library of games? A recent update to the Steam client adds the long-awaited option of hiding the titles you no longer want.

For example, as a longtime user of the service, I've accumulated quite a lot of games -- some of which I don't intend to play again. Heck, I even have a couple I accidentally purchased for the wrong platform; I certainly don't want those in my list.

Here's how to remove unwanted titles from your Steam library (with the option to restore them later, of course).

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of Steam. If you haven't run the client in a while, it should auto-update. The latest version, as of this writing, is dated August 13.

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Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 2: Click Library, scroll through your list of games, then find one you want to hide. Right-click it and choose Set Categories.

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Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step 3: Now tick the box next to "Hide this game in my library." Then click OK. Presto! The game disappears from your list.

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Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Never to return? Nope, you can restore a hidden game -- it's just not obvious how to do so. While still in Library view, find the search bar (near the upper-left corner), then click the Games link at the right edge of it. In the drop-down menu that appears, click Hidden. Now repeat steps two and three, above, except this time you'll be unchecking the "Hide" option.

It may have taken over a decade, but Steam has finally given users a feature they really wanted. Better late than never?