ff7legend - How To Block Skyrim AE Update Guide

DISCLAIMER: This guide was pulled from Nexus. It is uploaded here purely for reference.

How to forever block the Skyrim Anniversary Edition “Update” from being deployed onto one’s system:

1. Navigate to Steam\steamapps folder & find the appmanifest_489830.acf file.  This is Skyrim SE’s/AE’s manifest file.

2. Right-click appmanifest_489830.acf & select Open with the text editor of one’s choice (Notepad, etc) or Edit with Notepad++ if Notepad++ is installed.  I use Notepad++ since it’s free & extremely useful.

3. Open a new tab in one’s web browser & navigate to https://steamdb.info/app/489830/depots/?branch=public.

4. Look for the InstalledDepots line & directly underneath said line, there will be 3 sets of numbers (489831, 489832, & 489833).  If using a version of Skyrim SE in a different language (French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Chinese & Japanese), the appropriate Manifest ID will also need to be changed to match the one at the above web address.

5. Directly below these sets of numbers, there will be a “manifest” line followed by a series of numbers.  These are the Manifest I.Ds which Steam uses to determine whether an update to the game is required & uses them to deploy said update onto one’s system.

6. Using the info provided at https://steamdb.info/app/489830/depots/?branch=public, Copy/Paste the updated Manifest IDs into the appropriate lines.

7. Once the updated Manifest IDs are copied/pasted into the appropriate lines, click File followed by Save.

8. Right-click the appmanifest_489830.acf file once more & select Properties.

9. Check the box next to Read Only & select Apply when finished.

10. For an additional layer of protection, set Steam to Offline Mode after performing the above steps.


If all the above steps are done properly, the Skyrim AE “update” will be forever blocked from being deployed onto one’s system.  It should be noted that whenever Bethesda deploys a new update for Skyrim AE, this process will need to be repeated in order to keep Bethesda’s GREEDY PAWS off one’s modded game setup.  Bethesda plans on updating Skyrim AE on a monthly basis for the next year or so.  If this guide was helpful/useful, please consider hitting that Endorse button so this guide will be easier for others to find here on the Nexus.