How To Fix the Steam Game Icons Missing

Steam is a hugely popular platform for buying and playing video games. However, some users have reported that their game icons are missing in Steam. Thankfully, there are a few ways to fix this issue. This article will show you how to fix the Steam Shortcut Missing.

Steam, the unrivaled gaming destination, lets you play, discuss and create exciting PC games. The cloud-based gaming library hosts thousands of games from renowned developers and their indie game developers’ mods. We’ve also written a guide on Accessing Steam Screenshot Folder which might be another this you’re looking to resolve.

The design of these Steam Icons has changed over time as Valve has updated the Steam client. The first game icons were simple rectangles with the game’s title in a bold font. In 2010, Valve released a new version of the Steam client that featured round game icons with a smaller title font. This new design was disliked by many users, so Valve reverted to the old rectangular icons in 2012. In 2016, Valve released another new version of the Steam client with updated icons.

You can store a huge collection of games without overloading your PC’s memory. Plus, the platform allows gaming from any computer with a Steam engine installed. The app provides access to the games and forums library.

Fixing Steam Game Icons Missing or Steam Shortcut Icons Missing

If you’re one of the unlucky gamers who has been struggling to get Steam shortcut icons to work, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are three ways to try to fix it.

Way 1: Fixing through Steam App

1. Launch the Steam app.
2. Move to the Library tab.
3. Find the game you want from the available list of games.
4. Right-click on it and open Properties.
5. Move to the Local Files tab in the new window that opens up.
6. Hit Browse Local Files. It opens a File Explorer showing the folder with game files in it.
7. Look for the .exe game file.
8. Right-click on its icon and choose Copy.
9. Right-click on your desktop screen and hit Paste Shortcut.
10. A shortcut icon will appear on your desktop.

SEE ALSO: How to Fix Steam Disk Write Error

Way 2: Through Games Directory

Try the following steps if you have Steam games installed on a different HDD.

Setup Games Directory

Before fixing the icons problem, you need to set up your game directory. Follow these steps to do so.

1. Launch the Steam app.
2. Go to Settings > Library Folders.
3. Click on Add Library Folder and mention the proper path where your games are located on HDD. For example: E:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common.
4. Once you have added your new directory, right-click on it and choose ‘Make Default Folder.’

SEE ALSO: How to Fix Steam Content File Locked

Fix the Icons

Steam detects all games in your game’s directory. After that, you copy the game folder you want to fix the icon. Follow these steps.

1. Please right-click on the game in your library and open its Properties.
2. Move to the Local Files tab.
3. Hit Browse Local Files.
4. Copy and paste the game file on your desktop.
5. Right-click on the same game in your library and choose to Delete Local Content.
6. Copy the game back into the Steam library.
7. Click on Install via Steam Library. Now it will rediscover your game files.
8. Create a game shortcut on your desktop (if it is not present already).
9. Open C:\Program Files (x86) \Steam\steam\games, and you will see the game icons downloaded by Steam.
10. Open Properties of the shortcut icon.
11. Choose the Change Icon option and locate the icon for that shortcut in C:\Program Files (x86) \Steam\steam\games.
12. Hit Apply, and you are done!

SEE ALSO: How to Access Steam Screenshot Folder

Way 3: Clearing IconCache.DB

If the issue persists, check if the Windows is causing the icons to disappear, not only for Steam. Go to your app data and try clearing IconCache.DB.

We have looked at three potential solutions for the Steam Desktop Icon Missing error. Hopefully, one of these solutions successfully fixed the issue for you. If not, be sure to comment below, as this problem can be pretty frustrating. Thanks for reading!