Did you know you can play Steam games without an internet connection?This is great for when you're traveling, or if your Wi-Fi is spotty and you want to enjoy some PC gaming.
Before you go, however, there are a few key points you need to know about Steam's offline mode.It won't work if you don't set it up ahead of time.
Here's everything you need to know about Steam's offline mode.
What is Steam Offline Mode?
Normally, you must be connected to the Internet to launch Steam and play games through it.That's not necessarily a bad thing, as Steam's network offers many useful features like Steam cloud saves, achievement tracking, and automatic updates.
With Steam offline mode, you can play games through Steam even if your internet connection is unstable or non-existent.Here's an interesting Steam feature you probably didn't know existed!
How to Prepare for Steam Offline Mode
First, launch Steam with an internet connection.If Steam prompts you to log in, tick Remember my password so you can log in automatically next time.
With Steam open, go to Steam > Settings > Accounts from the top menu.Make sure "Do not save account credentials on this computer" is unchecked.If checked, Steam offline mode cannot be used.Click OK when done.
That's all the prep work.It's time to launch Steam in offline mode.To do this, in the main Steam window, go to Steam > Go Offline.A message will pop up explaining what you are going to do.Click to restart in offline mode.
Now that you can use Steam in offline mode, you can play your games without an internet connection.Keep in mind that many Steam features won't be available, so don't be surprised to see a warning when you're browsing areas like the Store or your profile. "Steam is currently in offline mode".
When you're ready to go back online, click Steam > Go Online.While you can stay in offline mode indefinitely, you should return online regularly so you can receive game updates, sync your achievements, and download new games.
How to start a Steam game in offline mode
Once you've enabled Steam's offline mode, you don't need to do anything special to launch your game.Just choose one from your game library, hit Play and you're done.
That said, any games that require an active internet connection or use an external launcher won't work in offline mode.There is no way to circumvent this.
How to fix problems with Steam offline mode
Hope your experience in Steam offline mode is smooth sailing, but you may encounter some occasional issues.
The most common problem is when you try to launch a game and see the "This game cannot be launched in offline mode" error.This is most likely because you didn't fully update or launch the game before activating offline mode.Most games need to be synced to the Steam network before they can be used offline.
If offline mode refuses to work at all, it's possible that Steam didn't shut down properly the last time you shut down your computer.This may result in the loss of data required for Steam offline mode to function.To prevent this, make sure to shut down Steam completely before shutting down.Don't force close the Steam app; just right-click the Steam icon in the taskbar and click Exit.Also, your firewall may be interfering with the Steam client, causing problems in offline mode.
Finally, your computer may think you have an internet connection, which can cause confusion for Steam even if you don't.On Windows, press Windows key + I to open Settings, go to Network & Internet > Change adapter options.Here, right-click on your connection and select Disable.
Play your Steam games anytime, anywhere
Thanks to Steam offline mode, you can play your game in any situation.It doesn't matter if you're in the forest, on a plane, or have an occasional internet outage, as long as you've got everything ready, you can enjoy your entire Steam library of games.
The addition of an offline mode is one of the many reasons to buy games on Steam.If we were to explore why Steam was so successful, features like offline mode made it clear why.
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