I have just lost three hours of progression on my moderate part of Skyrim! Nothing more frustrating than a surprise update that comes to break everything. If you have already experienced this galley, know that I totally sympathize. Today, I share the tip that saved my game and that could well save yours too.
Why Skyrim updates can destroy your backups
Skyrim continues to be a hit in 2025 with no less than 18,000 simultaneous players on Steam every day. It’s crazy for a game released almost 14 years ago! This longevity is largely owed to the community of modders which constantly enriches the experience.
The problem ? Bethesda continues to push updates, even after all these years. The latest dates back to January 2024, and believe me, she wreaked havoc in my moderate part. I was on the verge of starting DLC contents when suddenly, Nothing worked properly.
When Steam decides to update your game, that’s what’s going on:
- Your mods become incompatible with the new version
- Your backups refuse to take care of
- Personalized scripts stop working
- The SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) is no longer compatible
The worst in all of this is that Some mods of mods have abandoned their projects For a long time. Result: no one will update these mods to make them compatible with the latest version of the game. And bye-bye your part of 100+ hours…
How to deactivate Automatic Updates on Steam
After losing my progress for the third time, I finally found the solution. And it’s so simple that I wonder why I didn’t think about it earlier! To prevent Steam from sabotting your game of Skyrim and its DLC with each update, here is the manipulation to do:
Here is the step by step procedure:
- Right click on Skyrim in your Steam library
- Select “Properties” from the drop -down menu
- Navigate to the “Updates” tab
- In the drop -down menu, choose “Update this game only when I throw it”
- Close the window and voila!
But beware, this is only the first part of the trick! To be really quiet, You must also launch the game only via SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) and not directly from Steam. It is this little detail that makes all the difference and that saved me.
| Launching method | Risk of forced update | Compatible with mods |
|---|---|---|
| From Steam directly | Very high | Risqué |
| Via skse | Almost nul | Parfait |
| Game office shortcut | AVERAGE | Variable |
Alternatives for fierce modders
If you are like me, a gamer who spends hours refining her installation of mods, you could consider other even more secure solutions. I tested several approaches after losing my level 67 part (*sobs*).
The most radical method but Ultra effective is to put steam in offline mode When you play Skyrim. It completely blocks any attempted update, but you also lose social features during this time.
Another tip that I discovered recently: create a backup copy of your complete Skyrim file. Thus, even if an update was to pass between the mesh of the net, you can restore your previous version of the game. It’s a bit * the belt and suspenders option * for modding paranos like me!
Since I apply these measures, I have never lost a single part again. I can finally enjoy my ultra-model skyrim without fear that an update will come to spoil everything at the most crucial moment. And believe me, when you spend dozens of hours configuring your mods, this peace of mind is worth gold!