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I want to play a game in an older update, but can't see a way to choose a specific version. Is this possible?

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Megos answer isn't entirely correct, it depends, so I'll expand a bit.

In general, as Mego says, there is no way to do this, but some publishers do provide this option.

For example, the Paradox Grand Strategy games offer the option to roll back to any prior version and play that.

The only possible mechanic to do this is the beta program. Originally this was provided to allow users to opt into a new patch before it was released, but it also got adapted to provide roll backs.

  1. Right-Click your game of choice in your Steam Library. Select Properties, select the Betas tab.

  2. Click on the drop down menu at the top, which should say "NONE - Opt out of all beta programs".

  3. If this menu now offers earlier versions, then your game offers the rollback function you seek, otherwise there is nothing you can do.

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    It's a shame you can no longer say "Don't update this game, ever" :/ I understand many of the reasons, but it's still a shame. – Luaan May 23 '16 at 9:51
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Almost certainly no. Steam refuses to open a game unless it's the latest version or you're in offline mode, and does not offer any mechanism to download, install, and play older versions of games. The only way this would be possible is if the game developer kept older versions as part of the game content and had some sort of version selection in the game.

In short, your options are:

  1. Play in online mode, with the latest version of the game.
  2. Play in offline mode, with the last version of the game that you have downloaded.
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  • Pretty sure there was a "don't update this game" option but they removed it. I've read a few peoples reviews on GTA San Andreas which complained about it. – Gigala May 23 '16 at 10:58
  • "Steam refuses to open a game unless it's the latest version" - is this legal? I know that software is licensed, not "owned" - but aren't there relevant consumer rights laws to protect what people paid for? (e.g. if an update decided to add advertising, or remove features, etc)? – Dai Jul 12 '18 at 19:09

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