How to Fix ‘An error occurred while updating’ Steam Game

Wondering how you can fix ‘an error occurred while updating’ Steam game?

Getting on your computer for a quick game with the boys, or girls, is probably one of your daily routines. If not, you’re probably destressing or taking a break from work, school, or any other woes that come with the adult life.

Unfortunately, you’re greeted with the ‘an error occurred while updating’ Steam game message. Why does this happen and how can you fix this problem? This issue is usually caused by a connection problem between Steam’s servers and your computer.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps and methods that you can do to try and fix this problem. Here’s how to fix ‘an error occurred while updating’ Steam game.

Let’s get started!

 

1. Clear Steam’s Download Cache.

First off, let’s go over the methods that involve fiddling with your Steam settings. Have you ever opened up your Steam files and noticed that some files are bigger than others? How does Steam download one big file when your download speed is 5mbps?

That’s because Steam keeps a download cache on your computer that stores little bits of a large file until it’s complete. Once the large file has been completely downloaded, it is then combined and stored as one big file on your computer.

Unfortunately, these files can sometimes be compromised or corrupted, which eventually causes errors that could potentially stop you from downloading completely.

Here’s how you can clear your Steam’s download cache files:

  1. First, open up the Steam app and navigate to the Steam button at the top-left corner of your screen.
  2. Now, locate and click on the Settings option to open a new window.

  1. From there, click on the Downloads tab and select the Clear Download Cache option.

You’ll be required to restart your Steam app and log back into your account. Once that’s done, try to open and run the game again like normal to see if that works.

 

2. Change Your Download Region.

Moving on, Steam is a large company with gamers from all over the world tuning and logging into their servers. Due to this, there are a ton of Steam servers that are scattered everywhere to give you the best gaming experience.

By connecting to a download region that’s geographically closer to you, you’ll be able to download games much faster. Unfortunately, our connection to these servers can be compromised, which in this case is why we’ll be changing your download server to another location that’s also close to you.

Here’s how you can change the download region of your Steam account:

  1. Start by opening up the Steam app on your computer.
  2. Now, go to the Steam button at the top-left corner of your screen and select Settings.

  1. Like the method above, click on the Downloads tab and look for Download Region.
  2. Lastly, just change your download region to another location that’s also near your current place.

Change this location to something that’s close to you so you can still download pretty quickly while refreshing your connection to the Steam server. Restart your Steam program for good measure and try to see if the game can finally run.

 

3. Repair Your Library Folder.

Perhaps there’s something wrong with the software or process in reading your library folder. Since all your games are basically stored in your library, any complications with that folder will result in issues like this.

Luckily, this step shouldn’t take too long and will simply let Steam repair itself if it finds any issues. If this method finds anything wrong with your library folder, then once it’s fixed, this should have the biggest chance of fixing your problem.

Here’s how you can repair your library folder:

  1. With the Steam app open on your computer, go to your Settings by navigating through the Steam button at the top-left corner of your screen.
  2. Next, go to the Downloads tab and click on Steam Library Folders.

  1. Look for the library folder where your game is stored, by default there should only be one entry on this list. Right-click the folder and select Repair Library Folder.
  2. Steam will ask for your permission to open a Command Prompt that will repair Steam’s files.

The Command Prompt will automatically close when it’s done, so don’t worry about having to wait for it to finish. You can make yourself a cup of coffee while waiting, but this shouldn’t take too long. Once the repair is finished, go ahead and run the game that you were having problems with.

 

4. Verify Your Game’s Files.

A really cool feature that Steam added as a tool for its users is allowing you to verify your game’s files. By doing this, you’ll be able to let Steam compare your local files to the latest authentic version that’s saved on Steam’s servers.

This is a great way to fix and scour through your game files for any local issues that are on your computer. By doing this, you won’t have to reinstall your games entirely since you can just verify your files with the latest version in the market.

Here’s how you can verify your game’s files:

  1. Bring up the Steam app on your computer and from the top-left corner of your screen, go to Library.
  2. A list of all the games on your library as well as the ones that are currently installed on your computer should be seen on the left side of your screen. Look for the game that you’re having a problem with and right-click the program. From the list, locate and click on Properties.

  1. Once you’ve opened the Properties window, go to the Local Files tab and select Verify Integrity Of Game Files.

Steam will start comparing your local files to their server’s authentic and latest version then automatically download any missing records. Hopefully, this helped you fix ‘an error occurred while updating’ Steam game issue.

 

5. Whitelist Steam To Your Firewall.

Although this feature doesn’t get half the credit it deserves, your firewall actually protects you from a lot of network problems. The common misconception that gets thrown around is that the Windows firewall is useless since computers still get infected by viruses even if the firewall is on.

error occurred while updating steam game

Unfortunately, your firewall doesn’t monitor for malicious software, but for suspicious network activity which in this case is Steam. By adding Steam to your firewall’s whitelist, you’ll be able to alleviate the restriction causing your game to produce an error.

Before you proceed with this method, you will need to have administrative powers on your computer. We’ve covered this topic for both Windows and Mac users, so check out our guide for the in-depth steps.

 

6. Disable Any Antivirus Programs.

On a similar note, your third-party antivirus programs could also be monitoring your network activity for malicious behavior. Disabling it for a few minutes, just to see if the game works, should be worth a shot.

error occurred while updating steam game

Additionally, you can also add your game to your antivirus’ whitelist to prevent your AV from restricting the Steam game from opening. Unfortunately, since third-party antivirus programs are all coded and interfaced differently, we will be unable to provide a general list of steps to guide you through this process.

You’ll have to look for the steps on how to disable or add a program to your whitelist for your antivirus online.

 

7. Reinstall Steam.

Lastly, if you’ve completed exhausted all the methods above, then you might have to reinstall your Steam client. Before you do this, you can try waiting for a day to make sure that the error is not caused by any server issues.

error occurred while updating steam game

Although this error doesn’t fall under the category of server-prone problems, you can still check for the status of Steam’s servers to see if other people are also having this issue. Other than that, here’s how you can reinstall Steam on your computer.

Now that you’ve reached the end of this article, we hope to have helped you fix ‘An error occurred while updating’ Steam game issue. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave us a comment down below.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Mako Young

    Mako is a staff writer at Saint. He's been writing about tech for more than a decade. When he isn't reading about the latest news on Apple, he's busy studying cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, cloud computing, and other IT-related sectors. His exceptional work graces technology and Apple-related blogs like How-To Geek, VEED.io, Macgasm, onMac, PhotoWorkout, GameRant, and many more. He also has a Bachelors in Computer Science and has been writing since 2018, with over 400 posts published. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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