Even though other platforms exist, most people prefer Steam when playing games on Windows-based PCs. In its defense, Steam does a great job of creating a suitable environment for playing most games. In addition, it’s great that you can download almost everything you need for the game from a single space.
At times, though, you may not understand what Steam has downloaded and stored on your computer. The best example for this type of situation could be Steamworks Common Redistributables. Unfortunately, the last time we checked, most people did not have a clear idea about Steamworks Common Redistributables.
In fact, many people wonder whether they should remove Steamworks Common Redistributables from their computers. As it happens, though, the case of Steamworks Common Redistributables is a little more complex than you think.
In this post, we have solved almost every query you may have about Steamworks Common Redistributables on your PC. As you can guess, we will start with the very basics. Make sure you fully read the article before deleting or modifying the said files from your PC.
What Is Steamworks Common Redistributables?
If you are wondering what is Steamworks Common Redistributables, you can find the shortest answer here.
As you probably know by now, Steamworks Common Redistributables is a set of files and documents Steam will download to your computer. These files are known as Steamworks, and they are provided to developers by Steam.
The Steamworks Common Redistributables package contains essential files that will optimize all games on Steam for running smoothly on Windows. Of course, it is a passive process and will occur as the game gets started. If these files do not exist on your computer, Steam will not render the games correctly, thus ruining the experience altogether.
In other words, Steamworks Common Redistributables is one of the many things that make Steam work as smoothly as it does. You cannot experience smooth gameplay on Steam without the help of these files. We have to keep in mind that all developers include Steamworks Common Redistributables files with games. It happens with most games you may end up installing via Steam.
What Are the Contents of Steamworks Common Redistributables?
If you are wondering, you can find the following elements in the Steamworks Common Redistributables package. Of course, depending on the availability of software, some of these elements may get updated as well.
- OpenAL
- Visual C++
- Microsoft .NET Framework
- PhysX
- DirectX Redistributable
As you may have recognized already, many of these elements are essential for games and applications that run on Windows. However, we also have to remember that Steamworks Common Redistributables make things easy for developers and users.
Without Steamworks Common Redistributables, your computer will download and keep a copy of all these files every time you install a game. For example, suppose you install DOTA and GTA 5. If the said package is not available, your PC will end up with two copies of all the elements we mentioned above.
To avoid this situation, Steam has designed and deployed Steamworks Common Redistributables. However, as per the current system from Steam, Steamworks Common Redistributables will be downloaded only once. So, whenever a game is subsequently installed, it will be linked to the already downloaded file.
In this way, your PC can reduce the load and network resource usage.
Should I Remove Steamworks Common Redistributables?
No, you should not delete Steamworks Common Redistributables from your PC.
As you have guessed from the above sections, Steamworks Common Redistributables are crucial for running different games on your Windows PC. In addition, elements like Visual C++ and PhysX play an essential role in setting up the right environment for the games you have installed on the device.
Therefore, if you delete Steamworks Common Redistributables from the computer, Steam will not be able to run these games properly. Instead, you will get an error message from the Steam app. In short, your games will not work without Steamworks Common Redistributables.
As we said earlier, Steamworks Common Redistributables are designed to make things easier for developers and users. From the users’ point of view, you do not have to worry about DirectX or C++. Everything will be taken care of by Steam itself.
Therefore, it does not even make sense to think about deleting Steamworks Common Redistributables from your system.
Can I Hide Steamworks Common Redistributables?
If you think Steamworks Common Redistributables are making it difficult to use the Steam library, you can hide it from the library. The steps you have to follow are:
- Open the Steam app and go to the Library tab
- In the Library tab, you can see the list of all the games that you have installed so far
- Locate the entry named Steamworks Common Redistributables
- Now, open the game and choose the Manage option
- You can now see an option called ‘Hide this game.’
That’s it. From now, Steamworks Common Redistributables will stay hidden, and you will not see the entry while going through the Steam library. On the other hand, Steam will take care of all the updates in the back. Therefore, you will always be running the latest version of the contents that we talked about.
How Do I Update Steamworks Common Redistributables?
You do not have to worry about Steamworks Common Redistributables update at all. It has been designed in a way that Steam will take care of everything. As long as you have a working internet connection, you do not have to ask how to update Steamworks Common Redistributables at all.
Conclusion
Long story short, Steamworks Common Redistributables are not something you should worry about. You don’t have to delete the package either. You do not have to worry if you have already deleted Steamworks Common Redistributables. Steam will download the file after showing you the error message. Of course, it makes sense not to repeat the mistake and lose these files.
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