Game Icons Won’t Display on Desktop – Fixes to Try for Steam

Quick Tips

• If every shortcut on the desktop is blank rather than just Steam games, check the Windows icon cache.
• Steam desktop shortcuts use .url files, which means that you need to track down the original app in the Steam folder to link it back if needed.
• If you move your Steam library, remove all the affected game shortcuts and remake them from the Steam options.

If your Steam desktop icons blank, this is usually a graphics-only issue. The games in question will still launch when you double-click them, but the shortcut itself will be the default white. There are a few main causes, usually due to how Windows stores icons, so go through the following troubleshooting steps to fix Steam game icons not showing up on the desktop.

Fix 1 – Restart Windows Explorer for Steam Desktop Icons Blank

Explorer is the program that draws every icon on the desktop. But when it freezes, Explorer may display the default blank icon.

Step 1. Right-click the Start button on the toolbar and select “Task Manager.”

Step 2. Locate Windows Explorer under “Processes,” then right-click it and choose “Restart.”

Step 3. The taskbar and desktop will disappear, so just wait a few seconds.

Alternatively, you can use “End task” instead, but this will remove the toolbar, too (so you shouldn’t delete the Task Manager). For the desktop to come back, you need to click “Run new task” in Task Manager, type in “explorer.exe,” and hit “OK.”

Fix 2 – Rebuild the Windows Icon Cache

Windows caches icons in a separate database file that’s used as a cache. This can be deleted to force it to find the source icons.

Step 1. Hit “Win + R,” type in “%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer,” and hit “Enter.”

Step 2. Look for files named “iconcache_16.db,” “iconcache_32.db,” and so on. Select them all.

Step 3. Delete them. Windows will keep any file currently in use, so decline the prompt if it refuses to delete the file.

Step 4. Restart Explorer or the PC entirely.

Fix 3 – Recreate the Shortcut From Steam

If the shortcut file itself is broken, you need to use Steam to repair it.

Step 1. Delete the blank shortcut from your desktop.

Step 2. Open the Steam client and go to the Library tab at the top.

Step 3. Right-click the game, select “Manage,” then “Add desktop shortcut.”

Step 4. Check if the new shortcut displays properly.

Fix 4 – Check the .url File Default Program

Steam desktop shortcuts often use the steam:// protocol, which Windows passes to the Steam client. If another program is assigned to open those files, Steam might stop rendering shortcuts for them.

Step 1. Open “Settings” and go to “Apps,” then “Default apps.”

Step 2. Scroll to the bottom and select “Choose defaults by file type.”

Step 3. Search for “.url” and set it to your browser if it is listed as unassigned or set to an unexpected app. Then, restart the PC.

In some cases, the .url extension won’t even appear in that list. In that case, go back to the “Default apps” section and make sure that your browser is listed as the handler for HTTP and HTTPS.

Fix 5 – Reverify Game Files

If you get Steam desktop icons blank for only one game, you need to verify that the game has all its files (which can disappear if game files are missing or corrupted).

Step 1. Open the Steam Library section.

Step 2. Right-click the affected game and select “Properties.”

Step 3. Go to “Installed Files” on the left.

Step 4. Click “Verify integrity of game files” and let it finish.

Fix 6 – Point the Shortcut at the Icon Manually

Steam also downloads a .ico file for each game and stores them all in one folder. You can use this to create a manual reference.

Step 1. Right-click the blank shortcut and select “Properties.”

Step 2. On the “Web Document” tab (or the “Shortcut” tab for a .lnk file), click “Change Icon.”

Step 3. Browse to “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam\games” and look through the .ico files there.

Step 4. Pick the matching icon and click on “Open,” then click on “Apply” and “OK” to exit all other dialogs while saving the changes.

The filenames in that folder are hashes rather than game names, so you’ll need to identify them by thumbnail.

Fix 7 – Fix Library Folders After Moving Games

When moving games around, you should always use Steam’s dedicated “move storage” option for game Properties. If you’ve moved the folder manually, you’ll need to make Steam find the game.

Step 1. In Steam, click on the Steam icon on the top-left, then go to “Settings” and choose “Storage.”

Step 2. Use the drive dropdown and select “Add Drive” to register the folder your games were moved to. Set it as the default if that is where new installs should go.

Step 3. Restart Steam.

Step 4. Recreate the desktop shortcuts using another fix.