You delete a Steam account by filing a request at help.steampowered.com under My Account, then Data Related to Your Steam Account, then Delete My Steam Account.
There is no button that does it instantly. Steam Support reviews every request by hand, accounts with recent purchases wait around 30 days before they are eligible, and once the deletion completes nothing can bring the account back, including Valve.
The part worth pausing on is what goes with it. Deleting the account destroys every game you have ever bought, all DLC and in-game items, your playtime, screenshots, reviews, friends list and any remaining Steam Wallet balance. Games cannot be transferred to another account first, and Valve does not refund the library on closure. A 200-game library is simply gone.
Most people asking this question want something narrower than that: privacy, a clean break from a username, or an end to the emails. This guide covers the deletion itself, and the alternatives that get you the same outcome without burning the library.
Steam Wallet funds are destroyed with the account and are not paid out. If the balance is unspent and was added within the last 14 days, you may be able to refund it to your original payment method first. Otherwise, spend it or accept losing it.
2. Sell Or Move Marketable Items
Tradable in-game items can be sold on the Steam Community Market or traded to a friend before deletion. That converts them into wallet funds, which then face the same problem as above, so do this early enough to spend the proceeds.
3. Cancel Any Steam-Billed Subscriptions
Recurring subscriptions bought through Steam should be cancelled before you file, not left to lapse with the account. Closing an account with an active subscription attached is the kind of loose end that delays the request.
4. Download Anything You Want To Keep
Screenshots, guides you wrote, and local save files all disappear from the account side. Save files usually remain on your drive but cloud saves do not. Export what matters before rather than after, because there is no after.
How To Delete A Steam Account
Sign in at Steam Support. Go to help.steampowered.com and log into the account you want to close.
Open My Account. It is one of the main support categories.
Choose Data Related to Your Steam Account. This section holds both the data export tools and the deletion request.
Select Delete My Steam Account. Steam shows a warning describing what will be destroyed. Read it rather than clicking past it.
Complete the verification form and submit. Valve needs to be confident it is you, so expect to confirm details tied to the account.
Wait for Steam Support to contact you. A human reviews it. You may be asked for further proof of ownership before anything happens.
If you are in a region with statutory data rights, such as the EU or UK, the same section offers a data deletion request under that legislation. It is a different process from account closure and worth reading if privacy rather than the account itself is your goal.
What You Permanently Lose
What goes
Recoverable?
Notes
Every game and DLC you own
No
No refunds are issued for the library, and nothing can be transferred to another account first
In-game items and inventories
No
Sell or trade them before you file if they have value
Steam Wallet balance
No
Not paid out. Spend it first
Playtime, achievements and stats
No
Gone with the account
Screenshots, reviews and guides you wrote
No
Download anything you want to keep beforehand
Friends list and community groups
No
Note down anyone you want to find again elsewhere
Cloud saves
No
Local save files on your drive usually survive, cloud copies do not
The account name itself
No
Not released for reuse, and not recoverable by you
Valve is explicit that a fully deleted account cannot be recovered under any circumstances, including by Steam Support. This is not the kind of deletion that sits in a recycle bin for a month.
How Long It Takes, And The 30-Day Wait
There is no instant deletion. Requests are reviewed manually, so the first response can take days depending on the support queue.
If the account has recent purchases, expect to wait roughly 30 days before it becomes eligible. The reason is straightforward: recent transactions can still be refunded or disputed, and Valve will not destroy the record while that is live. Accounts with security flags, open support tickets or unresolved disputes take longer still and may need extra verification.
You can withdraw the request while it is pending simply by telling support you have changed your mind. Once it completes, you cannot.
The Alternatives That Usually Solve It Better
Almost everyone who searches for this wants one specific thing fixed. Deleting the account fixes it and destroys everything else at the same time. Match your actual reason to the narrower fix.
Your actual reason
The better fix
You do not want people seeing your profile or playtime
Set the profile and game details to Private in Privacy Settings. Nothing is deleted and nobody can see it
You are embarrassed by specific games in your library
Hide individual games from your profile and library, or mark them private
You want to stop spending money on Steam
Remove your saved payment methods and clear the wallet balance. The library stays for free
You want the emails to stop
Turn off marketing email in your account preferences
You dislike your username
Change the account name and profile name without deleting anything
You want Steam off your computer
Uninstall the client. The account and library are untouched and wait for you
You want your personal data removed
Use the data request tools in the same support section, which is a different process from closing the account
You want someone else to play your games
Steam Families sharing, rather than handing over or deleting the account
One thing none of these solve: selling or gifting your account to someone else is against Steam’s terms and gets accounts locked. Deleting is legitimate. Transferring is not.
Not fully signed in, or looking in the wrong support section
Sign in on the web rather than the client, then My Account, then Data Related to Your Steam Account
Told to wait roughly 30 days
Recent purchases on the account
Normal. The window has to pass before the account is eligible
Asked for more proof of ownership
Security flags, or the account has changed email or region recently
Provide what is asked. Purchase receipts and the original payment details are the strongest evidence
Cannot sign in to file at all
Lost access to the email or authenticator
Complete account recovery first. Valve will not delete an account you cannot prove you own
Nothing has happened for weeks
Support queue, or the ticket needs a reply from you
Reopen the ticket and ask for a status. Check your email including spam for a request you missed
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Delete My Steam Account?
Sign in at help.steampowered.com, open My Account, then Data Related to Your Steam Account, then Delete My Steam Account, and complete the verification form. Steam Support reviews it manually, so it is a request rather than an instant action.
Do I Lose My Games If I Delete My Steam Account?
Yes, all of them, permanently. Games and DLC cannot be transferred to another account beforehand and no refunds are issued for the library when the account closes.
Can A Deleted Steam Account Be Recovered?
No. Once deletion completes the account cannot be restored by anyone, including Steam Support. You can withdraw the request while it is still pending, but not afterwards.
How Long Does Steam Take To Delete An Account?
Requests are reviewed by hand, so the first reply takes days. Accounts with recent purchases usually wait around 30 days before becoming eligible, and security flags or open tickets extend it further.
What Happens To My Steam Wallet Balance?
It is destroyed with the account and is not paid out. If the funds are entirely unspent and were added within the last 14 days you may be able to refund them first. Otherwise spend the balance before you file.
Can I Hide My Steam Profile Instead Of Deleting It?
Yes, and for most people this is the better answer. Setting your profile, game details and playtime to Private hides everything from other users while your library stays intact and free to keep.
Can I Sell Or Give Away My Steam Account?
No. Transferring an account breaches Steam’s terms of service and typically results in the account being locked. Steam Families sharing is the supported way to let someone else play your games.
Does Uninstalling Steam Delete My Account?
No. Uninstalling the client removes the software from your computer and nothing else. The account, library and any active subscriptions carry on exactly as before.
The Short Version
File at help.steampowered.com under My Account, then Data Related to Your Steam Account, then Delete My Steam Account. A person reviews it, recent purchases mean roughly a 30-day wait, and completion is irreversible for everyone including Valve.
Before you do, spend the wallet balance, sell anything tradable, cancel Steam-billed subscriptions and save what you want to keep, because none of it survives and the library is not refunded. And check the alternatives first: a private profile, removed payment methods or a changed username solves most of the reasons people reach for deletion, without costing you every game you own.
