How to Remove Outdated Demo Games From Steam: A Step-by-Step Guide

A cluttered Steam library is a badge of honor. But it’s also a nuisance and a time-waster, particularly for those who like to keep things organized. There’s no way to reverse the needless game purchases that you’ve made over the years, but Valve is addressing one of the biggest contributors to your messy Steam library—old game demos.

You can now clear a game demo from your Steam library by right-clicking its library entry, opening the “Manage” submenu, and selecting “Remove From Library.” Additionally, demos will be automatically removed from your library when they are uninstalled. These are small changes, but they could save users a lot of effort in the long run.

Plus, Steam will no longer force you to install a demo when it’s added to your library (which is super useful when browsing the Steam store in the mobile app). And you now have the option to install a demo when you already own the full version of a game. The latter feature is intended for developers but may be useful to some very enthusiastic gamers.

Along with its new library behavior, Steam is introducing demo-specific store pages for games. This increases the visibility of game demos when shopping through categories like “New on Steam” and gives users the ability to leave reviews for game demos. If a developer offers a bad demo for a good game, other Steam users will warn you not to waste time with the demo. (This is assuming that developers actually build separate store pages for their game demos. They aren’t forced to do so; it’s voluntary.)

Valve notes that some old demos may resurface in your Steam library. This is due to updated library behavior, though some users may wrongly assume that Steam is “adding” unwanted demos to their account.

For reference, most gaming platforms do not take steps to remove game demos from user libraries or consoles. This can feel like a curse for PlayStation or Nintendo Switch owners with limited storage space, though it’s also something that can come in handy, particularly in game preservation .

Source: Steam