Microsoft’s Xbox app now lets you install PC games to any folder

For the first time, Microsoft is enabling games purchased through the Windows Store to be placed in any folder that can be viewed without restriction. It was first tested by the software giant last year, and it is now being made available to all Windows 10 and Windows 11 users on the Xbox One platform today.

This would significantly enhance the game installation experience from the Windows store, allowing PC players to install titles into any folder of their choosing while maintaining full access to game data and assets. It should alleviate the numerous problems associated with installing games through PC Game Pass, and Windows users should be able to backup and restore game files in the event of a failure.

Previously, Microsoft required Windows users to install PC games from its app store into a specific Windows Apps folder at the base of their hard drive’s partition. While extra storage drives were supported, you were unable to put games into a folder of your choosing, move them around freely, or make changes to their contents.

You will not be required to re-install any of your current games in order to take benefit of this update. You can enable the new installation and game administration tools by selecting manage from the context menu of games in the Xbox app when you right-click on them. Any games you install in the future will give you the option of selecting which folder you want them to be installed in.

These modifications will also make it possible to edit more titles from the Windows Store, and the Xbox app will become far more similar to the Steam client. From the Windows Store, you may download the latest version of the Xbox software right away.