01What works right now
The one-table version of this entire page, based on my latest round of testing:
| Scenario | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Latest version of a game you own | WORKS | Always has, always will — this is the baseline. |
| Free games & dedicated servers, anonymous | WORKS | Rare per-app exceptions (some server depots got stricter). |
Any active branch (-branch) | WORKS | The most reliable downgrade path in 2026. Includes password-protected branches. |
| Recent manifests (last few updates) | MOSTLY | Short window, varies per game. |
| Workshop / UGC by ID | WORKS | Different mechanism, unaffected by the manifest lockdown. |
| Old manifests, popular titles | COIN FLIP | Depends on whether any branch still references them and per-app settings. |
| Deep history (years old) of most games | USUALLY DEAD | 401 — no request code issued. Nothing client-side fixes this. |
02The error everyone gets
If you're here because of this output — yes, this page is about exactly that:
Got manifest request code for depot 413151, result: 0
No manifest request code was returned for depot 413151 from app 413150
Encountered 401 for depot manifest 413151 5793210319202900873. Aborting.That particular one is someone trying to fetch Stardew Valley 1.2.33 (issue #594, January 2025). The shape is always the same: DepotDownloader asks Steam for a manifest request code — a short-lived token required for every manifest download — and Steam returns nothing. Without the code, the CDN answers 401. The refusal happens on Valve's servers, before any game data moves. It is not a bug in DepotDownloader, your command is not wrong, and no flag, fork or VPN changes the answer. I cover what the codes are in depth in the downgrade guide — and if you want to rule out the fixable causes first (anonymous login, branch checks, ID mix-ups), the full diagnostic tree walks them in order.
03How we got here
- JUNE 2021 Manifest request codes appear in Steam client betas. SteamDB's write-up reads the tea leaves immediately: codes are short-lived, require ownership, and are only issued for manifests that are "valid in appinfo" — i.e. referenced by some current branch. The mechanism for killing deep history was built in from day one, just not yet enforced.
- MAY 14, 2022 Enforcement switched on. From this day every manifest download needs a code. In practice old manifests still worked for most games — the gate existed but stood open.
- JANUARY 2025 The gate closes. A wave of reports lands within days of each other — Stardew Valley, GTA IV, Subnautica, Rainbow Six Siege, Killing Floor 2 servers — all hitting 401 on manifests that had worked for years. The Reddit thread "Steam has broken the ability to download old versions" dates from the same weeks, and a community petition asking Valve to revert appears on the Steam forums.
- APRIL 2025 Still tightening: users report manifests that worked "a month ago" going dark (issue #614). The pattern of per-account inconsistency shows up in discussion #573 — one account gets a code, a friend's doesn't, for the same manifest.
- MID-2026 Where we are now. No further policy announcements from Valve, no rollback of the restrictions, no official statement at all. The status banner at the top of this page reflects my most recent checks.
04Why Valve did it — honestly, nobody outside Valve knows
Valve has never published a rationale, so everything you read — including this — is informed speculation. The two theories I find credible: backend load (third-party tools and dataminers hammering content servers for files they often didn't even own; the request-code system explicitly stops that), and developer pressure — the system gives developers a switch to disallow old versions of their games, and some clearly asked for it. Anti-piracy gets mentioned a lot too, though it's a weak explanation: you've always needed to own a game to get its depot keys.
Whatever the motive, note what it tells you about the trend line. Each step since 2021 has narrowed access and none has widened it. I'd love to update this paragraph someday saying Valve reversed course. I'm not holding my breath.
05What you can actually do
- Check branches first, always. Manifests referenced by any active branch — including beta and password-protected ones — still get request codes. If the developer keeps a legacy branch, your downgrade is one
-branchflag away. Full workflow in the downgrade guide. And once a build does come down, if the game still starts the current version anyway, that's a separate snag — see why a downgraded game launches the wrong version and the one-file fix for it. - Try the Steam console as plan B.
download_depotin the client console is subject to broadly the same rules, but I've personally seen the two methods disagree. Costs you two minutes. - Archive while you can. This is the real lesson of January 2025. If an old build matters to you — for modding, speedrunning, preservation — download it the day you start caring, not the day you need it. Manifests that work today have no guarantee attached.
- Ask the developer. Genuinely. Several games got official legacy branches because enough players asked. It's the only fix that's permanent.
- Don't waste time on "bypasses". Tools claiming to defeat request codes either replay leaked codes (dead within minutes), use shared accounts (against ToS, risks the account), or are malware fishing for exactly the audience reading this page. The gate is server-side; there is no client-side key.
06How I test this
So you know what the banner is based on: I keep a small list of probe manifests — old builds across a spread of games (big publisher titles, indies, a dedicated server, a free game) with known-good manifest IDs that used to download. When I re-test, I run each through DepotDownloader on an account that owns them and record which ones still get request codes. A refusal is instant and harmless — it fails before downloading anything — so the test takes minutes. If you want to check a specific game yourself, just run your command: a 401 within the first seconds means the manifest is gated, not that you did anything wrong.
07Seen something change?
This page is only as good as its last update. If you hit a 401 on something listed as working, or — better news — an old manifest that suddenly works again, I want to know. The fastest routes: discussion #573 on GitHub (the de-facto community log for this issue, maintainers read it) or the issue tracker with your exact command and output. The date stamp in the banner above tells you how fresh my own data is.