Do You Have To Wait For Steam To Download Game Before You Play

Steam is a great client for managing your PC games, but by default, it pauses all downloads whenever you're playing a game. Fortunately, you can get around this.

Best Answer: Yeah you always have to fully download a game before you can play it. If you try to play it before, well it just won't let you, or the game will just crash. Better to just wait a while and not mess up your download.

Game

Once you start a game, all of your downloads will immediately pause, which is a pain because after all—what's the best way to kill time while waiting for a game to download? Play a different game! Luckily, you can force Steam to download games while you play. Just fire up the game you want to play, then follow these steps:

  1. Press Alt-Tab to get back to the desktop, then pull up the Steam window.
  2. Hover over 'Library' and select 'Downloads.'
  3. Click the big 'Resume All' button, as seen in the screenshot above.

Your downloads will begin immediately. Keep in mind that if you're playing an online or multiplayer game, downloads might affect your ping, but single-player should be fine. Remember you can also limit your download speed, if you want to minimize that effect.

Steam

Do You Have To Wait For Steam To Download Game Before You Play For Windows 7

Advertisement

Steam's Latest Beta Lets You Limit Your Download Speed

Today, the Steam beta client gained the ability to limit download speeds. This makes it easier for…

Read more
  • Open another tab and do something else, but don't download more stuff at the same time because it will slow down the download you're waiting for! 6 Go on Facebook and kill time on there, or go on Quizilla and take random quizzes, polls, etc. But beware not to play games on Facebook or listen to music on there because it may slow down the download.
  • Because that will result in slow speed and you need time to download it too. With preload, once it is released, you can play it. And do not circumvent this rule because you will violate their TOS. Besides there is NO WAY to play a pre-loaded Steam game.
  • Steam pauses downloads upon launching a game in order to prevent interference with connection quality that the game may need. Under the Library tab, select Downloads from the drop-down menu and click the 'Resume All' button. This will have all downloads continue downloading.
Read

Do You Have To Wait For Steam To Download Game Before You Play Online

How to download and play games on Steam simultaneously | Ghacks

Do You Have To Wait For Steam To Download Game Before You Play For Kids

Advertisement