If you’re playing Fallout 4, you’ll likely want to prevent it from updating on Steam. In the wake of the TV show release, tons of people are picking up the game, and Bethesda plans to release a next-gen update patch. Unfortunately, the update will break the modding framework the community has built. If it’s installed, you’ll be stuck with the vanilla version of the game until mods can be updated.
How to prevent Fallout 4 from installing patch on Steam
Fortunately, there’s a surefire way to prevent Fallout 4 from being updated on Steam. However, it only works if you’ve already installed Fallout 4 Script Extender (F4SE), as it disabled the ability to launch the game through Steam.
To prevent Fallout 4 from updating:
- Find the Steam library Fallout is installed to: For most people, this is going to be
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps(Windows) or~/.steam/steam/steamapps(Linux). - Find the correct manifest file: When a game is installed, a unique manifest file is added as well. In Fallout 4’s case, the name of this file is “
appmanifest_377160.acf.” - Set the manifest file to read-only:
- Windows: Right-click on the file, select Properties, and check “Read-only.”
- Linux: Right-click on the file, choose Properties, find Permissions, and uncheck any write permissions.
If you’ve completed the above steps correctly, you’ll see “missing file privileges” on the downloads page if Steam attempts to install an update for the game.
Unfortunately, when you perform the above steps, you can no longer launch Fallout 4 through Steam. Instead, you can either start the game by using the F4SE executable directly or by adding it to Steam as a non-Steam game.
When you want Steam to be able to update Fallout 4 again, you just have to restore write permissions by following the above steps in reverse. Just make sure that any mods you’re using have been updated to support the new patch beforehand.
