How to See Hidden Games on Steam (PC, Steam Deck & Filter Fix)
You know you own the game. You paid for it, you played it last year, maybe you even have an achievement for it. But when you open your Steam library, it is just gone. No error. No warning. It simply is not there.
This happens to more Steam users than you would think, and it is almost always the same cause. The game is hidden. At some point, you, or an old version of Steam, or a messy click tucked that game into a hidden games list. The good news is that nothing was deleted. Your game is still on your account. You just need to know where Steam is keeping it.
Below is the exact way to see hidden games on Steam, on your PC, on Steam Deck, and even a fix for the strange filter message that stops hidden games from showing up at all, brought to you by software eggs.
Why Steam Games Go “Missing” in the First Place
Steam has a feature called Hide this game. Right-click any title in your library, and you will see it sitting inside the Manage menu. Click it, and that game disappears from your normal library view.
People hide games for all kinds of reasons. Maybe it is an old demo you forgot to uninstall. Maybe it is a game you are a little embarrassed by. Maybe your library has 400 games in it and you just want to see the ones you play most.
Whatever the reason, hiding a game does not uninstall it, delete your save files, or remove your achievements and playtime. It only tells Steam to stop showing it to you. That is the whole trick, and the whole fix, once you know where to look. Understanding these quick client tweaks is just as essential as knowing what software fixes any issue with any game on pc when troubleshooting your gaming setup.
How to See Hidden Games on Steam (Desktop, Step by Step)
This is the main method, and it works on Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of the Steam client.
- Open the Steam desktop app and log in.
- Click View in the top-left menu bar.
- Select Hidden Games from the dropdown list.
A new page will open, showing every game you have ever hidden. From here, you can play a hidden game directly, or unhide it so it shows up in your main library again.
If you do not see a “View” menu at all, do not worry. Your library is just using the newer collections layout. Try this instead:
- Open your Steam Library.
- Look just under the Home button on the left side. You will see two small lines with a dropdown arrow next to them.
- Click that dropdown and make sure “Games” is checked.
- Scroll down the collections list on the left. “Hidden” should appear as its own collection once you have at least one hidden game, making it easy to launch your titles without interference from background tools like game clipping software running in the overlay.
Fix for “Games in This Collection Are Not Shown Due to Your Selected View Filters”
This is the single most common problem people run into, and it looks like a bug, but it is not. If you open Hidden Games and see this message, check the top right corner of your library. You will probably see blue text that reads something like showing ready to play only.
Steam has a filter that only displays games which are installed and fully updated. If a hidden game is not installed on your PC, this filter hides it a second time, even inside the Hidden Games list itself.
To turn it off, follow these steps:
- In your Library, click Show all Collections in the left panel.
- Look for a small play icon sitting inside a circle, next to the “Games” dropdown near the search bar.
- Click that icon once. It should change from blue to grey.
Your full list, including hidden and uninstalled games, should now appear.
How to See Hidden Games on Steam Deck
Big Picture Mode, the interface Steam Deck uses, tucks this menu into a different spot than the desktop client.
- Open the Steam menu from the bottom-left corner.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Home in the left column.
- Find the line that says something like “X games are hidden,” and click Manage next to it.
Your hidden games will appear as their own collection. Press and hold a game’s cover art, choose Manage, then Remove from Hidden to bring it back.
There is one catch. This setting only appears once you have created at least one Collection in your library. If you have never made one, this will sort it out:
- Press and hold any game’s cover art.
- Choose Add to, then New Collection.
- Type any name and select Create Collection.
- Tap Yes, show collections when Steam asks.
Once that collection exists, the hidden games setting will work as expected. If you are using Desktop Mode on your Steam Deck instead of the normal launcher, just follow the desktop steps from the section above.
Can You See Hidden Games on the Steam Mobile App?
No, not yet. As of right now, the Steam mobile app has no way to view, hide, or unhide games. Hidden titles simply do not appear in the mobile library, and there is no filter or setting that brings them back.
If you need to check or manage a hidden game, use the desktop client or Steam Deck instead. Think of the mobile app as a lighter version of Steam built for browsing, chatting, and checking the store, not full library management.
How to Unhide a Game for Good
Once you have found the game using the steps above, getting it back into your normal library takes seconds.
- Open the Hidden Games list.
- Right-click the game, or press and hold on Steam Deck.
- Select Manage.
- Click Remove from Hidden.
That is it. The game moves straight back to your main library, and you can hide it again later if you change your mind.
Hiding a Game and Making It Private Are Not the Same Thing
This trips up a lot of people. Hiding a game only cleans up what you see in your own library. It does not automatically stop friends, or anyone browsing your public profile, from seeing that you own or play that game.
If your real goal is privacy, and not only a tidy library, you need a second setting:
- Click your profile name in the top-right corner of Steam.
- Select View my profile, then Edit Profile.
- Open the Privacy Settings tab.
- Set Game Details to Friends Only or Private.
Hiding declutters your library. Privacy settings control what other people can see. Use both together if you want a clean library and a private profile.
Still Can’t See Your Hidden Games? Try This
If you followed every step above and your hidden games still will not show up, the fix is usually one of these:
- Toggle the filter off and back on. Sometimes the library display just needs a refresh.
- Restart the Steam client. This clears small display glitches more often than you would expect.
- Check your internet connection. Steam needs to sync with its servers to load your full library correctly.
- Give it time if you switched devices. Unhiding a game on your PC can take five to thirty minutes to show up on Steam Deck or mobile, since accounts sync periodically instead of instantly.
- Sign out and back in. This forces Steam to pull a fresh copy of your account data.
If none of that works after a few hours, it is likely a short-term issue on Steam’s end rather than a problem with your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hiding a game delete it or remove my progress?
No. Hiding only changes what shows up in your library view. Your installed files, save data, cloud saves, playtime, and achievements all stay the same.
Do hidden games still count toward my total game count?
No. Steam leaves hidden games out of your total game count until you unhide them.
Can I hide or unhide several games at once?
Not right now. Steam only supports hiding and unhiding one game at a time, so managing a large hidden list takes a bit of patience.
Will my friends know I hid a game?
No. Hiding a game is a private action tied to how your library looks to you. It does not send a notification or leave a visible marker anywhere.
Is there a faster way to manage a huge hidden games list?
If you are dealing with hundreds of titles, third-party tools like Depressurizer can help you batch-organize categories. Steam’s own Hidden Games menu still works fine for most people, though.
Once you know where Steam tucks these games away, the whole thing takes less than a minute to fix. Check the View menu first, watch out for that ready to play filter, and remember that Steam Deck and mobile each have their own quirks. Your games were never gone. Steam was just hiding them in plain sight.
