In this post, we discuss how to fix: the steam game still running after closing.
Steam is your ultimate destination for playing your favorite games and even creating them! It’s an online platform developed by game developer Valve. You can buy, play and create games and even discuss them with like-minded people. You might find several PC gaming devices but none of them will give you the experience that you will get from Steam. Steam is a desktop client that lets users organize their game library. You can even stream your play sessions to an audience and chat with friends.
While it offers one of the best PC gaming experiences, it is still prone to temporary glitches. But, don’t worry! Keep reading to know how you can fix them. You might come across a common issue with Steam where Steam actually thinks a game is still running even if it’s closed. The error looks something like this, “App already running” This article will help with the troubleshooting steps to fix this Steam error.
First, let’s understand why this problem occurs on Steam. Closing a game on Steam is pretty simple and takes only a few seconds. If you are trying to start a game after recently closing it, you might experience this app already running error.
If this error pops up, you won’t be able to play that game until the game is resolved. Sometimes, due to unexpected power cuts or internet issues, your games may get closed unexpectedly and it will be difficult for you to continue playing the game.
Let’s take a look at what can be done to fix this issue.
Fix: steam game still running after closing
Close the Game’s Launcher
Some popular games like GTA V and other Ubisoft titles use dedicated launchers. When you start a game on Steam, their standalone client will also launch. After exiting the game on Steam, you can try manually closing the standalone client launcher. If your Steam games do not have a dedicated launcher, you can skip this step and move to the other steps in the article.
Wait for Steam Cloud to Sync
If you are using Steam Cloud to store the progress of your games, you may have to wait for the process to be finished. It takes only a few seconds depending on your internet connection. It’s best to wait for the Steam Cloud to finish syncing the local data with its servers.
If Steam Cloud sync seems to get stuck in the middle, you can try to restart Steam and sync again. Until the sync is finished, you will not be able to click the Play button on the desired game titles.
Use the Task Manager
Sometimes when you simply exit a game from the main menu, it’s not merely enough. It might not have closed properly. If Steam tells you that the game is still running even after closing it, you can use the Task Manager. Open the Task Manager and end all processes that might be related to the game. You can use the Task Manager to close any launchers or stores, browser-based windows, and anything else that could be a part of the game.
Run Steam as an Administrator
If the issue lies with the Steam app, then the easiest way to fix this issue is to restart the Steam client. This is such a simple step and takes only a few seconds. You can even try doing this step first as it’s the most hassle-free way to fix this issue. Close the Steam app and when you launch it again, run the Steam app as an administrator and this should likely solve your problems.
Restart your PC
You can also simply try restarting your PC if nothing else works or if you are unable to find other apps that are related to your Steam game and close it. After restarting your PC, run Steam as an administrator.
This method usually fixes all your problems.
Sometimes we can’t help it when games get closed unexpectedly. It’s beyond control and you will likely end up facing issues while restarting your game again. The simple troubleshooting steps mentioned in this article will definitely help you eliminate CC this issue and you can go back to playing your favorite Steam games in no time