VALORANT is unusual to uninstall cleanly because Riot Vanguard, its anti-cheat system, runs as a kernel-level driver rather than a normal background app. Delete the game folder or run the standard uninstaller without handling Vanguard first, and the driver keeps loading at every Windows startup regardless. Getting the order right is what separates a clean removal from one that leaves a kernel driver running for a game you no longer have installed.
Why Vanguard has to go first
Vanguard installs two Windows services that matter here: vgc, a user-mode component, and vgk, the actual kernel driver. Riot built it to load at system startup specifically so it can catch cheat software that launches before the game does, which is also exactly why deleting the VALORANT folder or running an in-game uninstall option never touches Vanguard on its own. Removing Vanguard needs to happen as its own separate step, and in the right order relative to everything else.
Phase 1: Uninstall Riot Vanguard first
Before opening any uninstall menu, check your system tray in the bottom-right corner of the taskbar for the Vanguard icon. Right-click it and select Exit Vanguard if it’s running, confirming the prompt that follows. This isn’t strictly required, but closing it first avoids the uninstaller occasionally failing because the service is actively in use at the moment you try to remove it.
- Press the Windows key and type Add or remove programs, or go to Settings, then Apps, then Apps and features.
- Search for Riot Vanguard in the list.
- Select it and choose Uninstall, confirming any security prompt that appears.
- Restart your computer. This step isn’t optional. Windows keeps the kernel driver loaded in memory until a reboot actually unloads it, so proceeding without restarting can leave Vanguard only partially removed.
Phase 2: Uninstall VALORANT and the Riot Client
Once Vanguard is gone and you’ve restarted, remove the two remaining applications through the same Apps and features menu.
- Search for VALORANT and select Uninstall.
- Search for Riot Client and select Uninstall.
The Riot Client has its own separate entry here, distinct from VALORANT itself, since it’s the launcher shell that can also manage other Riot titles. Removing VALORANT doesn’t automatically remove it.
Phase 3: Clean up leftover files and folders
The standard uninstallers handle the applications themselves, but configuration data, logs, and cached files tend to survive in a few predictable places.
Main installation folder: open File Explorer and delete C:\Riot Games entirely. If you installed to a different drive, the folder will be in the equivalent location there, for example D:\Riot Games.
Cached and AppData folders: press Windows Key plus R, type %localappdata%, and delete the Riot Games and VALORANT folders if they’re present. Then open Run again, type %programdata%, and delete the Riot Games folder there as well. Together these hold configuration data, logs, and temporary files that neither uninstaller touches.
If Vanguard refuses to uninstall normally
Occasionally the Windows Settings uninstaller for Vanguard fails or hangs. When that happens, Riot’s own advanced support documentation recommends removing the underlying services directly through the command line rather than retrying the graphical uninstaller.
- Press the Windows key, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
- Run
sc delete vgc, thensc delete vgk, pressing Enter after each. - Restart your computer immediately after both commands complete. This marks the services for removal, but Windows doesn’t fully release them until the next reboot.
- After restarting, check for and delete
C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguardif it’s still present.
A successful delete command returns a confirmation in the Command Prompt window, so if either command produces an error instead, that service may already be gone, which is fine and doesn’t need further action.
Final verification checklist
| Phase | Task |
|---|---|
| Vanguard removal | Uninstall Riot Vanguard, then restart before continuing |
| Game removal | Uninstall VALORANT and Riot Client separately |
| File cleanup | Delete C:\Riot Games |
| Cache cleanup | Delete Riot Games and VALORANT folders in %localappdata% and %programdata% |
| Final step | Empty the Recycle Bin |
Conclusion
VALORANT’s uninstall process is really two separate jobs wearing one name: removing Vanguard, a kernel driver that keeps running independent of the game, and removing the game and launcher themselves. Doing Vanguard first and restarting before touching anything else is the part most people skip, and it’s exactly the step that determines whether the driver actually stops loading or just sits there disabled-looking until the next boot proves otherwise. The manual sc delete commands exist specifically for the cases where the normal uninstaller can’t finish that job on its own.