GameCleaner · Guides
How to Free Up Disk Space on Steam (2026 Guide)
Modern AAA games routinely pass 100GB installed. Three or four of them and a 1TB SSD is full. The good news: most of that space is recoverable without losing a single save. Here are seven ways to reclaim it, fastest first.
1. Find the games you stopped playing
The biggest wins are huge titles you haven't launched in months. Open Steam → Settings → Storage to see size per game, but Steam won't tell you when you last played. Sort by size, then be honest: that 120GB shooter you quit in spring is 120GB you can get back. Uninstalling keeps the game in your library — reinstall anytime.
2. Clear shader caches
Shader caches speed up rendering but pile up over time. On Windows they live under steamapps/shadercache. Deleting them is safe — the game regenerates what it needs on next launch. You may see brief stutter the first session after, then it's gone. This alone can recover several GB.
3. Delete language audio you don't use
Many games ship voice-over for a dozen languages and install all of them. Some let you pick languages in Properties → Language; switching to one language and verifying files can shave gigabytes off big titles.
4. Move games to a second drive instead of deleting
If you have a spare HDD or SSD, you don't have to delete — move. In Steam, right-click a game → Properties → Installed Files → Move install folder. Steam copies, verifies, then frees the original. Keep your active library on the fast SSD; park the rest on cheaper storage.
5. Verify integrity to drop duplicate files
Interrupted updates sometimes leave duplicate or partial files. Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files repairs the install and can reclaim wasted space.
6. Clear the Steam download cache
Settings → Downloads → Clear Download Cache removes stale partial downloads. Low risk, occasionally a quick few GB.
7. When all else fails, add storage
If you've cleaned everything and you're still full, the honest fix is more space. A 2TB NVMe SSD is cheap now and ends the juggling for good — keep every game you actually play installed. See our current 2TB SSD picks →
Tired of doing this by hand? GameCleaner scans your whole library, flags the stale 100GB titles automatically, and reclaims the space in one click — saves backed up first. Get early access →