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How to Force Uninstall Valorant and Riot Games Client (Windows 10/11)

How to Force Uninstall Valorant and Riot Games Client on Windows

To force uninstall Valorant and the Riot Games client on Windows 10 or 11, stop the Riot Vanguard service in services.msc, then use a third-party uninstaller like HiBit Uninstaller to remove Valorant, Riot Vanguard, and the Riot Client one by one with an Advanced Scan to wipe leftover files and registry entries. Reboot afterwards to clear any kernel-mode driver remnants left by Vanguard.

Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2) | Last updated: May 4, 2026

How to Force Uninstall Valorant and Riot Games Client (Windows 10/11 Tutorial)

Key Takeaways

  • Three components to remove: Valorant, Riot Vanguard (the kernel-mode anti-cheat), and the Riot Client. All three need to go for a clean uninstall.
  • The standard Windows uninstaller leaves files behind — especially Vanguard, which keeps a service running and a driver loaded after Valorant is gone.
  • HiBit Uninstaller (free, portable) handles the Force Removal with an Advanced Scan that finds leftover folders in C:\ProgramData\Riot Games and C:\Program Files, plus residual registry keys.
  • Stop the Vanguard service first in services.msc — otherwise the file locks prevent full removal until you reboot.
  • A reboot is required to fully unload the vgk.sys kernel driver after uninstall completes.

Quick Steps

  1. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
  2. Find vgc (Vanguard) in the list, right-click it, and select Stop.
  3. Try the standard uninstaller first: right-click Start, open Installed Apps (Windows 11) or Apps and Features (Windows 10), and uninstall Valorant, Riot Vanguard, and Riot Client.
  4. If anything refuses to uninstall, download the portable version of HiBit Uninstaller and extract it.
  5. In HiBit Uninstaller, right-click each Riot entry and choose Force Removal with Advanced Scan enabled.
  6. Manually delete any leftover Riot Games folders in C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86), and C:\ProgramData.
  7. Restart your PC to unload the Vanguard kernel driver completely.

In This Guide

Why a Normal Uninstall Is Not Enough

Valorant ships with three separate components, and each one installs differently. The Riot Client is a standard launcher, Valorant is the game itself (typically several gigabytes), and Riot Vanguard is the anti-cheat. Vanguard installs a kernel-mode driver (vgk.sys) and a Windows service called vgc that starts at boot. Standard uninstallers were not designed for software that holds a kernel driver and a system service.

In my repair shop I saw plenty of PCs where someone had “uninstalled Valorant” through the normal Windows route, only for Vanguard to keep loading at boot or for the next install to fail because old files were still locked. The fix is to stop the service first, then use a force-removal tool like HiBit Uninstaller to scrub leftover files and registry entries. A reboot at the end unloads the driver from memory.

Step 1: Stop the Vanguard Service

Stopping vgc before you uninstall anything releases the file locks Vanguard holds on its installation folder. If you skip this step, the uninstaller will report errors or leave files behind.

Press Windows key + R, type the following, and press Enter:

services.msc

Scroll down to vgc (the display name is usually just “vgc”). Right-click it and choose Stop. If the service is already stopped, move on to the next step.

Tip: Vanguard restarts itself if you try to disable it from inside Valorant. Stopping the service from services.msc is the reliable way.

Step 2: Try the Built-in Windows Uninstaller First

Always try the standard uninstaller first — it is faster, and on a healthy install it will remove most of what you need. Right-click the Start button and choose Installed Apps on Windows 11 or Apps and Features on Windows 10.

Windows 11 Installed Apps screen with Valorant selected and the Uninstall option highlighted.

Scroll through the list and uninstall these three entries one by one, in this order:

  1. VALORANT
  2. Riot Vanguard
  3. Riot Client

If any of them refuse to uninstall, throw an error mid-uninstall, or vanish from the list but still leave folders behind, move on to the HiBit Uninstaller method below.

Windows 11 also has a Programs and Features fallback. Press Windows key + R, type appwiz.cpl, and press Enter to open the classic Control Panel uninstaller. Sometimes a stuck Riot entry shows up there even when it does not appear in Installed Apps.

Step 3: Force Removal With HiBit Uninstaller

HiBit Uninstaller is a free Windows uninstaller that includes a Force Removal mode for stubborn programs. I always grab the portable version because it does not need installation and you can keep it on a USB drive for repair work.

Download the portable zip from the official HiBit website. Once it is downloaded, right-click the zip, choose Extract (Windows 11 has built-in zip extraction, or use 7-Zip if you have it), and run the HiBitUninstaller.exe file from inside the extracted folder.

HiBit Uninstaller download page with the portable version download button highlighted.

HiBit Uninstaller shows a list of installed programs similar to Apps and Features. For each Riot entry that is still hanging around, do this:

  1. Right-click the entry (Valorant first, then Riot Vanguard, then Riot Client).
  2. Choose Force Removal.
  3. On the next screen, select Advanced Scan (deep scan for leftover files and registry entries) and click Scan.
  4. Review the list of detected items and click Finish (or Delete) to remove them.
HiBit Uninstaller showing Valorant selected with Advanced Scan enabled during Force Removal.

Repeat the same Force Removal + Advanced Scan workflow for Riot Vanguard and the Riot Client. The order matters because Vanguard depends on the Riot Client for some shared files, so removing the client last means the dependency tree is intact while Vanguard cleans itself up.

Step 4: Clean Up Leftover Folders and Registry Entries

HiBit’s Advanced Scan catches most residual data, but Riot’s installers occasionally leave folders that no uninstaller knows about. Open File Explorer and check these paths:

  • C:\Program Files\Riot Games
  • C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard
  • C:\Program Files (x86)\Riot Games
  • C:\ProgramData\Riot Games (this is hidden by default — enable View > Show > Hidden items)

Delete any of those folders that still exist. If a folder refuses to delete because Vanguard is still loaded in memory, restart the PC and try again — once the kernel driver is unloaded, the files release.

For registry residue, the Advanced Scan inside HiBit normally clears the relevant HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Riot Games keys. If you want to verify, press Windows key + R, type regedit, and use Edit > Find with the search term Riot Games to check for stragglers. Only delete keys you are confident about — accidental registry edits can cause Windows issues.

Important: Restart your PC after the cleanup is complete. Vanguard’s kernel driver (vgk.sys) loads at boot and only unloads on shutdown. Without a reboot, parts of it remain in memory and can interfere with reinstallation.

When You Should Force Uninstall Valorant

Most players never need to do this, but a few specific situations call for a force uninstall instead of the standard route:

  • Valorant or Vanguard error codes that persist after a reinstall — common ones are VAN -81, VAN 9001, and VAN 1067. Cleaning out the old install and starting fresh resolves most of them.
  • You want Vanguard fully off your PC — Vanguard runs at boot and some users prefer not to have a kernel-level anti-cheat installed when they are not playing.
  • The standard uninstaller fails or leaves the entry stuck in Installed Apps — this happens when an update was interrupted or the install became corrupted.
  • You are passing the PC to someone else and want every trace of the game and anti-cheat removed.

If you decide you also want to remove other stubborn programs from the same PC, take a look at my guide on how to force delete undeletable files on Windows. And if a Riot install left junk in the Windows update cache or installer database, my guide on clearing the Windows update cache covers a similar cleanup pattern.

For a more thorough Windows debloat after the cleanup, Winhance can disable telemetry, remove preinstalled apps, and tighten the OS without third-party bloatware of its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Valorant install Riot Vanguard separately?

Vanguard is a kernel-mode anti-cheat that has to install as a system-level component, separately from the game itself. Riot ships it as its own program with its own service (vgc) and its own driver (vgk.sys). That separation is also why uninstalling Valorant alone does not remove Vanguard — they are technically two different programs.

Will I lose my Valorant rank or skins by force uninstalling?

No. Your rank, agent unlocks, skins, and stats are stored on Riot’s servers, not on your PC. Uninstalling Valorant only removes the local game files. When you sign back in after reinstalling, everything tied to your account comes back.

Is HiBit Uninstaller safe to use?

Yes. HiBit Uninstaller is a free Windows uninstaller that has been around for years and is widely used by repair technicians. The portable version does not modify Windows beyond the uninstall actions you trigger. Always download it from the official site (hibitsoft.ir) — third-party download portals sometimes bundle adware.

Can I reinstall Valorant after a force uninstall?

Yes, and reinstalling on a clean system actually solves most of the install errors people experience. Download the Riot Client installer from playvalorant.com, run it, and sign in. The client downloads Valorant and Vanguard automatically. Make sure you reboot after the force uninstall before you reinstall — that step is the one most people skip.

What if Vanguard refuses to uninstall completely?

If Vanguard’s service or driver still loads at boot after the uninstall, boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift while clicking Restart, then Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > press 4). In Safe Mode the kernel driver does not load, so you can delete C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard manually and remove the vgc service entry from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vgc.

Does this work on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2?

Yes. The services.msc and Force Removal workflow has not changed in Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2. The only difference is that Installed Apps in Windows 11 looks slightly different from Apps and Features in Windows 10, but the uninstall buttons are in the same place.

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