Steam Games Updates (Patches): How to Enable Auto Updating

So someone asked me how to enable auto updating for his Steam games. This guide is for him. This guide also covers how to force your Steam client to automatically begin scanning for Steam games updates.

By the way: RIP THQ and Vigil Games. You guys will be missed. Here's hoping we'll see a Darksiders 3. A world without that franchise is no place for a horse.

The full guide after the jump.



Setting your Steam client to actively check if your Steam games have patches is easy. Just ensure that the specific game you want to be patched already has the "Always keep this game up to date" option enabled. To do this, right click on the game's title and click on Properties:

 

Verify that the "Always keep this game up to date" option is enabled. Conversely, if you have a game that you seldom play that always updates, consequently hogging your bandwidth, you can pick the "Do not automatically update this game" option.

It's that easy, now your game should always be up-to-date; every time its developers  release an update, your Steam client should automatically bring up the game to the most recent version. (Note: While Steam automatically downloads updates for your games, an update will automatically pause if you play another game; the auto updating will resume as soon as you stop playing. Needless to say, you cannot play a game that is being patched.)

>>>Confused on how to activate a product on Steam? Read THIS guide! :)

Here's a sample of a game that just been patched with Steam's auto upgrade feature:

You can view the above page by going to View > Downloads.

If you suspect your game is buggy or that certain files have been corrupted, you can also force Steam to auto update your game by going to the "Local Files" tab on the "Properties" UI. Click on the encircled button and Steam will compare your local game files with that of the current version. It will show you a games downloading notice if it sees that updates or replacements (in the case of corrupted files) are needed.

If this guide can't solve your issue, you can try the Steam "Help and Tips forums" for further assistance.

Happy gaming!