What Steam's Latest Outage Means for Your Weekend Gaming Pla…

Players hit by the loop can't launch games or access the store through the launcher, though the web storefront offers a partial workaround. Two outages in one week may raise questions about Steam's re…

Players hit by the loop can't launch games or access the store through the launcher, though the web storefront offers a partial workaround. Two outages in one week may raise questions about Steam's re…

Key points - Steam users began reporting the "loading user data" launch error around 8am ET on October 26. - SteamDB shows all systems green while Down Detector logs ongoing problem reports. - The error appears tied to the launcher, with the web storefront working better for some users. - This is Steam's second outage in a week, following a brief store outage on October 21. - Valve has not yet commented on the reported "loading user data" issue.

Timeline - October 21: Steam store briefly goes down amid a storm of PHP vulnerability responses online. - October 26, around 8am ET: Reports of the "loading user data" launch error begin to spike and keep rising. - October 26, later hours: Users continue reporting the error loop; Valve remains silent on the issue.

FAQ

Q: Why does Steam keep saying "loading user data"? A: The error appears to be launcher-side, hitting some users in an endless loop. Rebooting Steam multiple times reportedly hasn't fixed it for affected players.

Q: Can I still buy games on Steam during the outage? A: Possibly. The web version of the storefront seems to work better for browsing and purchases, since the error is tied to the launcher rather than the site.

Q: Is this the first Steam outage this week? A: No. Steam briefly went down on October 21, making this the second outage in a week. Valve hasn't commented on either incident.