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How to Queue and Manage Game Downloads on Steam

Use Steam’s Download Manager to view downloads, reorder queued updates, set update timing, and manage game-specific update behavior.
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Use Steam’s Download Manager to see active downloads and updates, reorder queued updates, and control when automatic game updates run. Open it from the Downloads link at the bottom of the desktop client, from View > Downloads, or from Library > Downloads.

Open Steam’s Download Manager

Steam’s built-in Download Manager is where you monitor download progress and manage updates. Steam Support says, “Downloads and updates can all be managed via the Download Manager in the Steam client.”

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  1. Open the Steam desktop client.
  2. Choose one of these routes to Downloads: click Downloads at the bottom of the client, select View > Downloads, or open Library > Downloads.
  3. Review the active and queued items in the Download Manager.

Steam documents manual reordering of queued downloads in this manager. Select and reorder items there as needed; Steam’s support guidance does not specify a particular button or drag gesture, so the available interaction may depend on the client interface.

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Choose when automatic game updates run

To limit when Steam automatically downloads game updates, open Steam > Settings > Downloads and enable the option to schedule automatic updates within a chosen time window. The window uses your local time. This controls automatic game updates; it is not a general schedule for every new game download.

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If an update is waiting for its scheduled window, you can tell Steam to download it immediately from the Download Manager. Launching that game also triggers its update immediately.

Set update behavior for an individual game

Use the game’s own update settings when you want different behavior for one title:

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  1. Open the game’s page in your Library.
  2. Choose Manage > Properties > Updates.
  3. Choose the update behavior that fits the game.
  • Always keep this game updated allows the game to update automatically.
  • Only update this game when I launch it defers its update until you start the game.
  • High Priority – Always auto-update this game before others prioritizes this game’s automatic updates ahead of other games.

The same Updates area includes a per-game control for whether other updates download while you are playing. These game-level choices complement the client-wide schedule; they do not replace the Download Manager’s queue controls.

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Keep bandwidth and storage settings separate from queue order

Steam has other download-related controls, but they solve different problems:

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  • Bandwidth: In Steam > Settings > Downloads, set a bandwidth limit to constrain network use. Depending on the client’s display preference, the rate may be shown in bytes or bits per second.
  • Storage: In Steam’s Library folders settings, choose a location for a new download or move an installed game to another library location without downloading it again.

A bandwidth limit can make downloads use less of your connection, and another library location can help when a drive is short on space. Neither setting reorders the download queue.

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What Steam’s queue guidance does—and does not—specify

Steam Support confirms that users can manually reorder queued downloads in the Download Manager, but its guidance does not state the exact button or gesture. It also does not provide a specific procedure for placing several newly purchased games into a particular order. The documented queue and update controls are in the desktop Steam client; exact interface details may vary by client version.

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Source: Steam Support: Managing Steam Downloads & Updates. The article does not show a publication or revision date.

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