To verify game files on Steam, right-click the game in your library (or click the gear icon), choose Properties..., open the Installed Files tab, and click Verify integrity of game files. Steam's official support page says to use it when a game has missing textures or other content, or crashes during play, and that the check may take several minutes. This guide follows the Steam Support pages as checked on September 30, 2026. If your game only crashes while you are recording, the cause may not be the game files alone, so it is worth reading why games crash while recording as well.
When the check helps, and where it stops
The official page names two purposes: missing textures or other content in the game, and crashing during gameplay. Steam's separate Update & Installation Issues page adds that files on a hard drive or storage device can be damaged by faulty hardware, software crashes, or power surges, and that Steam can verify the correctness of installed game files and fix them if necessary. The official pages do not explain how files are compared or repaired, or give an exact duration, so this guide does not invent numbers or inner workings. The check also does not diagnose why a game crashes; it only confirms the state of the installed files. How to record a Steam game is covered separately in how to record Steam games.
Steps to verify game files
- 1Restart your computer and launch Steam — The official procedure starts by restarting your computer and launching Steam. If a heavy task such as defragmenting or a virus scan is running, finish or stop it first.
- 2Pick the game in your library — In your library, right-click the game, or click the gear icon at the far right of the game's library page.
- 3Open Properties... — Choose Properties... from the drop-down menu.
- 4Start the check from the Installed Files tab — Select the Installed Files tab and click Verify integrity of game files. Steam then verifies the game files, and this can take several minutes.
- 5Wait, then launch the game — Avoid other heavy tasks while it runs. When it finishes, launch the game and see whether the symptom is still there. If a message says one or more files failed to verify, the official page says you can safely ignore it.
What the official page says at a glance
| Item | Official documentation | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Missing textures or other content, crashing during play | A way to confirm the game files are installed correctly |
| Where to click | Properties... > Installed Files tab > Verify integrity of game files | The gear icon opens the same menu |
| How long | May take several minutes | The official page gives no per-minute figures |
| One or more files fail | Local configuration files; you can safely ignore the message | They are files that should not be replaced by this process |
| When to avoid | During heavy system tasks such as defragmenting or virus scanning | Run it after those tasks finish |
| Several games | Do not verify multiple games at the same time | Go one game at a time |
If it looks stuck or nothing changes
- The official page says the check may take several minutes, so confirm you did not cancel it too early.
- Make sure no defragmenting or virus scan is running at the same time.
- Make sure no other game is being verified at the same time.
- Restart the computer and Steam and try again; if it is the same, try Steam > Settings > Downloads > Clear Cache.
- If it is still the same, run Repair Folder on your library folder under Steam > Settings > Storage, then close possibly interfering programs such as antivirus or a VPN, restart Steam, and test.
If you also use a recording app
Steam's Update & Installation Issues page lists recording software as one type of software that modifies or monitors system, disk, or network activity. It does not name a specific product, but if a game crashes only while a recording app is running, you can narrow things down by running the game once with the recorder off and once with it on, after the file check. DOR is a free Windows app that records games automatically, and Counter-Strike is a game where it records the full match and also creates automatic highlight clips such as kills. On an NVIDIA graphics card it records with NVENC hardware encoding, and it captures game sound and your microphone together. DOR does not repair game files, and if recording does not start even after the check, see when a recorder does not detect your game.
Official sources (checked September 30, 2026)
The steps and cautions come from Steam Support's Verify Integrity of Game Files page, the basic troubleshooting order from Update & Installation Issues, and the types of programs that may interfere from Programs Which May Interfere with Steam. Menu names follow the English Steam Support pages.
