How to Downgrade Fallout 4

Fallout 4 sat on version 1.10.163 for more than four years, and a huge pile of mods was built for it. Then came the April 2024 next-gen update, the November 2025 Anniversary Edition update and several patches after that. The latest, version 1.11.240, arrived on August 18, 2026.

Every one of those versions needs its own build of F4SE, the script extender that big mods run on. If your setup was made for an older version, this guide puts the game back on it.

Back up first. Copy your saves (Documents\My Games\Fallout4\Saves) and your game folder before you start. A save made on a newer version may not load on an older one. See our backup steps.

Not sure the update caused your crashes? Check Mods Broke After an Update first.

Pick the version you need

Version	F4SE build	Who it’s for
1.11.240 (latest)	0.7.9	Mods that have updated for the Anniversary Edition
1.10.984	0.7.2	Setups built for the 2024 next-gen update
1.10.163	0.6.23	Older mods, and Fallout: London, which needs it

All three builds are on the F4SE site. The steps below get you 1.10.163, the version most downgrade guides aim for. Need the next-gen build? Use the 1.10.984 commands instead.

Downgrade with the Steam console

Steam keeps old builds of every game, and its console can download them by ID. The commands below match the Fallout: London team’s guide and PCGamesN’s guide.

1. Close the game. Press Win + R, type steam://open/console and press Enter.
2. Paste these four lines one at a time. Wait for Steam to say each download is done before you start the next.

download_depot 377160 377161 7497069378349273908
download_depot 377160 377163 5819088023757897745
download_depot 377160 377162 5847529232406005096
download_depot 377160 377164 2178106366609958945

3. Do the same for each DLC you own. Skip the ones you don’t have.

DLC	Command
Automatron	download_depot 377160 435870 1691678129192680960
Automatron (English)	download_depot 377160 435871 5106118861901111234
Wasteland Workshop	download_depot 377160 435880 1255562923187931216
Far Harbor	download_depot 377160 435881 1207717296920736193
Far Harbor (English)	download_depot 377160 435882 8482181819175811242
Contraptions Workshop	download_depot 377160 480630 5527412439359349504
Vault-Tec Workshop	download_depot 377160 480631 6588493486198824788
Vault-Tec Workshop (English)	download_depot 377160 393885 5000262035721758737
Nuka-World	download_depot 377160 490650 4873048792354485093
Nuka-World (English)	download_depot 377160 393895 7677765994120765493

The full set is about 33 GB, so make sure you have the space.

4. Find the downloads in Steam\steamapps\content\app_377160. Each one has its own depot_ folder.
5. Open your game folder: right-click Fallout 4 in Steam, then Manage, then Browse local files. Copy what’s inside every depot folder into it, and overwrite files when Windows asks.
6. Deal with the newer Creation Club files in Data: either delete every file whose name starts with cc, as the Fallout: London guide says, or keep them and install the Backported Archive2 Support System. That F4SE plugin lets 1.10.163 read the newer archive format.
7. If you have the HD Texture Pack, uninstall it. The Fallout: London guide removes it too.
8. Install F4SE 0.6.23. Copy f4se_1_10_163.dll, f4se_loader.exe and f4se_steam_loader.dll into your game folder, as its readme says.

Get 1.10.984 instead

Version 1.10.984 was the second next-gen patch, from May 13, 2024. Mods made for F4SE 0.7.2 need it, and it keeps the next-gen changes that 1.10.163 lacks.

1. Open the Steam console the same way: Win + R, then steam://open/console.
2. Paste these seven lines one at a time, as before.

download_depot 377160 377161 7332110922360867314
download_depot 377160 377162 5698952341602575696
download_depot 377160 377163 8681102885670959037
download_depot 377160 377164 8492427313392140315
download_depot 377160 435870 1213339795579796878
download_depot 377160 435871 7785009542965564688
download_depot 377160 435880 366079256218893805

The first four lines are the game. The last three are Automatron and Wasteland Workshop, so skip them if you don’t own those. The IDs match a depot list posted the day 1.10.984 came out and the Mulderland downgrader’s build script.

3. Copy the depot folders into your game folder, as in steps 4 and 5 above.
4. Delete Data\Fallout4 - TexturesPatch.ba2 if it’s there. The 1.10.984 files don’t include it, and the Mulderland downgrader removes it too.
5. Install F4SE 0.7.2 from its Nexus page. Copy f4se_1_10_984.dll, f4se_loader.exe and the Data folder into your game folder, as its readme says.

That same downgrader leaves your other DLC and your Creation Club files alone for this version. You also don’t need the archive plugin from step 6, which is only for 1.10.163.

A tool that does it for you

The Fallout 4 Downgrader runs the 1.10.163 steps for you, and its code is open on GitHub. It patches files when it can. When it has to download from Steam instead, it asks you to sign in with your Steam account or a QR code.

For 1.10.984, Mulderland’s Steam downgrader starts from 1.11.240 and needs no Steam login. Check either tool’s page to make sure it supports your current version before you run it.

Keep Steam from updating it

Steam has no real off switch for one game, so use all three of these:

1. Change the update setting. Right-click Fallout 4, choose Properties, then Updates, and pick Only update this game when I launch it.
2. Launch through F4SE. Start the game with f4se_loader.exe or your mod manager, never the Play button in Steam.
3. Lock the manifest file. In the steamapps folder on the drive where the game is installed, right-click appmanifest_377160.acf, choose Properties and tick Read-only.

Verify integrity of game files undoes all of this and brings back the newest version. When you’re ready to update on purpose, untick Read-only first.

Skip the steps next time

We’re building Version Lock, a Windows app that does this whole job in one click. It also holds Steam updates and tells you when F4SE supports a new version.

For the next-gen choice, crash fixes and settings, see the Fallout 4 fix guide. Skyrim broke too? Here’s how to roll Skyrim back.

Last reviewed: October 2026.