Steam stuck thinking the game is still running

Title.
Whenever I close the game, Steam still thinks it's running and for this reason, I can't shut Steam down unless I kill it in the Task Manager.

How can I fix this?

I've had the same problem for a while, and then it suddenly went away. No idea why

I have a similar issue, however after a while steam offers me the option to shut down anyway.

Could be that there is an active process in Steam using Zero-K credentials that connects to the browser. It is how you automatically login to this forum.

Closing your browser fully can fix this.

At least I had this occur many times when closing and starting the game, until I figured it out.

On Windows there is another possiblility:
If you had errors or a desync while playing, a small window opens after you close Zero-K.
Something about crash reporting. This window is not visible in the Task Bar, but it will keep Zero-K alive.

luckduck you can find the non-Steam version when clicking on Play/Download Zero-K on this website.

Oh, and btw: you cannot use your Steam account with the non-Steam version, you have to create a new profile. It will ask you to do so once you open the game. It is possible to write some admins (these guys with the symbol of a head in uniform before their nick on this forum) and tell them you want your Zero-K account linked to Steam transfered away from Steam and use it separately. I did not do so yet, and sometimes, when I open Zero-K and have Steam process running in the background (beware, if you close the window it does not mean you closed the app, you either have to change it the settings or close the process maually in task manager), it logs me in with the Steam profile, even though I dont use the Steam version. Then, you just have to close Zero-K, close the background Steam process, and open Zero-K again.