After investigating this particular issue, it turns out that there are several different underlying scenarios that might ultimately cause this problem with World War 3. Here’s a list of culprits that are most likely responsible for preventing you from installing a World War 3 pending update:
1. Free up disk space
As it turns out, the number one cause why you might expect to deal with this issue is a scenario that prevents the game’s updating function from copying over the new update failed due to lack of free space. So if you’re currently dealing with the ‘Failed to update the World War 3 game’ error, the ideal way to start is to make sure you have sufficient disk space on the partition where the main World War 3 game is installed. Some community members are recommending at least 10 GB of free space when installing pending updates, but our recommendation is to keep always keep a buffer of at least 35 GB of free space on the partition where you installed World War 3. In order to free up space (if this method is applicable), you can either do it manually (by deleting stuff yourself) or automatically (via the Windows Cleanup Utility). If you want to save time and ensure that you are not deleting stuff that’s actually valuable to your OS, we recommend the automated approach – it’s much easier to perform and will save you from mistakenly deleting files that you shouldn’t delete. In the event that the partition in question currently holds other large games or applications that you’re no longer using, you should prioritize them first when uninstalling. However, if you’re looking for specific instructions that will walk you through the process of using the Disk Cleanup utility to free up the required space for World War 3 (and the game is installed on the system partition), follow the guide below to learn how to use the Disk Cleanup utility to free up system space: If this method didn’t help and you concluded that the WW3 error has nothing to do with the available free space, move down to the next potential fix below.
2. Open Steam with admin access
Once you made sure that you have enough space to accommodate the pending update, the next thing you should look at is the allowed privileges. Steam needs administrator access in order to be able to replace and write new files onto the existing World War 3 installation. If Steam is not opened with admin access, you might find yourself in a scenario where every pending update will fail (not just for World War 3). If you’re not sure whether Steam runs with admin access or not, follow the instructions below to check and ensure that admin access is given every time Steam is launched: In case Steam was already running with admin access or this method didn’t fix the problem, move down to the next potential fix below.
3. Install every pending Windows Update
As it turns out, another fairly common scenario that might prevent World War 3 from auto-updating itself is a missing .NET dependency. This issue is solely reported on Windows 11 where a specific .NET dependency that the game needs is labeled as an optional update and won’t get installed automatically. If you find yourself in this scenario, you should be able to get the issue fixed and allow World War 3 to install every pending update by installing every pending update that’s currently available via Windows Update. Note: Make sure you install every critical, cumulative, and optional update that is currently pending. For specific instructions on how to do this, follow the steps below: If the ‘Failed to update the World War 3 game‘ error is still occurring, move down to the next potential fix below.
4. Create a new Windows administrative account
An unlikely but definitely possible culprit that might prevent World War 3 from updating itself is a scenario in which the main Windows account that you’re using when launching steam is somehow affected by corruption. Several users dealing with the same kind of issue have confirmed that they finally fixed the problem by creating a new administrator account in order to replace the corrupted equivalent. After doing this, a lot of affected users have confirmed that World War 3 finally completed the pending update and they could play the game normally. If this scenario is applicable and you want to give this fix a try, follow the instructions below to create a new Windows administrative account to replace your current one: If the problem is still not fixed, move down to the next potential fix below.
5. Deploy an integrity check in Steam
If none of the potential fixes so far have proven to be effective for you, you should start troubleshooting for some time of corruption that is preventing World War 3 from updating itself. WW3 game file corruption typically appeared after a botched update or after some type of AV scan that ended up flagging one or more game files due to a false positive. Almost every scenario like the one described above can actually be rectified by deploying a file integrity check on World War 3 from the Steam menus. If you haven’t tried this potential fix yet, here’s what you need to do: If the problem is still not fixed, move down to the next potential fix below.
6. Prevent Firewall from blocking the game update
If none of the methods covered so far have proven to be effective in your case and you still can’t update World War 3 to the latest version available, you should also consider a potential firewall interference. According to other community members, this type of problem is encountered with both the built-in firewall solution (Windows Firewall) and a 3rd party equivalent. If this problem is indeed caused by a firewall action, the focused approach is to whitelist the game launcher (Steam) and the main World War 3 executable from your AV settings. Note: In the event that whitelisting is not an option for you, the only way to prevent the firewall rules from being enforced is to simply uninstall the security suite that’s causing this problem. Try going for the whitelisting method first and only resort to uninstalling the problematic security suite if there’s no other way. In any case, we covered both scenarios with a couple of sub-guides:
Whitelist Steam + the Main WW3 Executable
If this method is applicable to you and you’re experiencing this problem while using the built-in firewall, the most elegant way of solving the conflict is to whitelist Steam and World War 3 from the setting menu of Windows Firewall: Note: In case you are using a 3rd party firewall instead of a Windows Firewall, the steps below won’t be applicable. In this case, look online for specific steps on whitelisting the two executables according to the firewall solution you’re using. Here’s what you need to to do whitelist Stream and the main World War 3 executable:
Uninstall the overprotective 3rd party firewall
In case whitelisting the Steam executable and the game launcher was not an option for you, the next thing you can do is uninstall the overprotective firewall solution. Keep in mind that even if you disable the firewall solution that you’re using, the same security rules will likely remain in place and prevent World War 3 from communicating with the game server. Note: In case you are using Windows Firewall, you won’t be able to uninstall the firewall solution like you would normally do with a non-native firewall. Instead, follow this guide to disable Windows Security. On the other hand, if you’re actually using a 3rd party firewall solution, follow the instructions below to uninstall the firewall solution: If World War 3 still refuses to update, move down to the next potential fix below.
7. Reinstall World War 3
In case you got this far and nothing has really worked in allowing you to install the pending World War 3 update, there’s really nothing else you can do other than deploying a reinstall procedure. We’ve managed to identify several community members confirming that once they uninstalled the game via Programs and Features and reinstall the latest build via Steam. This will eliminate the need to update since you’re already installing the latest available update along with the main game. Here’s what you need to do to reinstall the game:
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