Xbox PC app now lets users in the Insider Program to install games in any folder, here's how to do it

Ashwin
Nov 20, 2021
Windows 11 Help
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2

About a week ago, Microsoft announced that it would start allowing users to install games in any folder of their choice. The feature was teased to arrive soon, and now it has.

Xbox PC games install folder

Prior to this, games were installed in the hidden Windows folder called WindowsApps, which was otherwise inaccessible by users. You will need to be in the Xbox PC Insider Preview Program, to access the custom install location option.

How to opt in to the Xbox PC Insider Preview Program

1. Install the Xbox Insiders Hub app from the Microsoft Store.

2. Run the app, and opt in to the Xbox PC Insider Preview Program.

3. On the sidebar to the left, select the Previews tab, and click on Windows Gaming.

Xbox Insider Hub opt-in

4. Close the app.

5. Open the Microsoft Store app and hit the check for updates button.

6. Wait for the Gaming Services app to be installed.

How to install Xbox PC games in any folder

1. When you have completed the above steps, open the Xbox app.

xbox pc app interface

2. Click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the interface. If it shows a generic icon, you may not have signed in to your account. Sign in before proceeding to the next step.

3. The drop-down menu, that appears when you click your display picture, lets you access the Xbox PC app Settings. Head to the page.

Xbox PC app settings menu

4. Switch to the General Tab on the sidebar.

Xbox PC Insider Preview Program

5. You should see an option that is labeled "Use advanced installation and management features". If you don't see it, you may have either not signed in to the app or opted in to the Insider Preview Program.

6. Toggle the option, and a new setting will appear. It will point to C:\XboxGames as the new folder where games will go in to.

How to install Xbox PC games in any folder

7. Click the Change Folder button next to the option, and select a different directory. This is the global folder for Xbox games, so you can't choose a new one for each game.

Xbox PC games change installation folder

8. Go to any game's page and click the Install button. It should show your new folder as the destination.

Install xbox games in different folder

This is a welcome move for users with limited storage space on their C: drive. And even if you only have a single drive in your computer, you may still find it useful to have the option to choose where the games get installed. When the game gets installed, you can manage it from the Xbox app, and click the Browse button to open its folder in File Explorer.

Xbox pc games browse files

With the addition of this feature, users of the Xbox PC app can now access all game files including the EXE files. This allows you to mod the games. The Xbox PC app will indicate whether a game supports mods or not, so keep an eye out for that before downloading a game.

Xbox pc games directory and files

Of course, this may not seem like groundbreaking features, if you compare it with the like of rival storefronts such as Steam, GOG or Epic Games, but it is great to see that Microsoft is listening to feedback from gamers. I think it has largely to do with Xbox GamePass for PC. The Redmond company has been nailing it with the subscription, which boasts a sizeable collection of AAA and Indie gems. Many games arrive day one on the subscription service, which means you can play $60 games for as low as $1 per month. As a result, there has been an influx of new players on the service. This in turn means more feedback and feature requests from users.

Even the new Microsoft Store has been impressive, having opened access to Win32, .NET, UWP, Xamarin, Electron, React Native, Java and Progressive Web Apps. For instance, the Mozilla Firefox, Epic Games Store apps are available on the Windows Store.

Note: I tested this on Windows 11.

Summary
How to install Xbox PC games in any folder
Article Name
How to install Xbox PC games in any folder
Description
The Xbox app on PC now allows you to install games in any folder. Here's how you can do that.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. John G. said on August 21, 2023 at 2:38 pm
    Reply

    There is not still W11 23H2 and these instructions are nonsense by now. :[

    1. James said on August 21, 2023 at 8:48 pm
      Reply

      It worked for me just fine. You’re probably not following the instructions clearly.

      1. Katrina Thompson said on August 30, 2023 at 3:25 am
        Reply

        Just tried the password option and the OOBE option and didnt work.

    2. Anonymous said on September 7, 2023 at 10:33 am
      Reply

      Worked perfectly. Thank OP.

    3. Anonymous said on September 15, 2023 at 11:26 am
      Reply

      Worked perfectly for me just now. Specifically, the regedit option.

  2. 45 RPM said on August 22, 2023 at 9:02 am
    Reply

    Is this cut and paste from a Microsoft PR paper, because it 1000% BS:

    “By listening to user insights, Microsoft has demonstrated its commitment to refining the Windows experience based on real-world needs.”

    Windows 11 is proof they don’t give a s*it.

    1. elong45 said on August 23, 2023 at 12:25 am
      Reply

      Worked for me just now

    2. Robert N said on August 28, 2023 at 10:55 pm
      Reply

      I agree! Windows 11 was a downgrade to me and I kept all 8 computers in our family on Windows 10 as a result. They didn’t listen to any customers. The taskbar was THE main reason I stayed away from Windows 11. With 6 monitors, it is impossible to navigate so many browser tabs, without the feature. I will try the new version in the virtual box to see if it is worth it yet.

  3. Anonymous said on August 23, 2023 at 11:33 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft did a terrible job with this implementation.

    They simply need to employ the creator of StartAllBack to fix Windows. He is smarter and more talented than the entire campus of Microsoft employees.

    1. Anonymous said on September 4, 2023 at 11:36 pm
      Reply

      lol

  4. Joe Mama said on August 24, 2023 at 12:10 am
    Reply

    Thank you so much! I work in IT and this is extremely useful information!

  5. Anonymous said on August 27, 2023 at 9:34 pm
    Reply

    Thanks man. The second method worked great!

  6. Anonymous said on August 28, 2023 at 1:16 pm
    Reply

    I used the second method, and i got exactly what i expected.

  7. adrian said on September 1, 2023 at 12:52 am
    Reply

    Using the Bypass 2: Use a banned email address email worked fantastically as I had gone to far to use the bypass 1.
    I will be back when I next have a problem.
    Keep you the great work

  8. John G. said on September 4, 2023 at 6:15 pm
    Reply

    W11 File Explorer is the worst crap ever done. W11 is the biggest shame ever.

  9. MarineRecon said on September 4, 2023 at 9:14 pm
    Reply

    Just one more reason for me to go to Linux when Windows 10 ages out.

    1. TelV said on September 19, 2023 at 11:46 am
      Reply

      @ MarineRecon,

      Be careful which Linux distro you choose. Some of them don’t include the Wayland protocol which is a security issue i.e. apps can copy, paste and inject data without user interaction.

      It’s included in Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/latest/system-administrators-guide/Wayland/

  10. Dustyn said on September 4, 2023 at 9:28 pm
    Reply

    How about a DARK MODE for your website? That would be oh so nice.

    1. Tom Hawack said on September 5, 2023 at 12:55 am
      Reply

      Something like this : [https://img.justpaste.me/image/8617] maybe?
      Done with ‘Dark Reader Extension for ? Firefox’ [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/darkreader/]

      This comment was written on [https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-installation-has-failed-how-to-fix-this-upgrade-error/#comment-4573155}

    2. TelV said on September 19, 2023 at 11:49 am
      Reply

      Definitely NOT! Once you get older and your eyesight starts to fail you’ll positively loathe dark mode.

      1. Mycroft1325 said on September 25, 2023 at 11:48 pm
        Reply

        Not sure what eye problems *you’re* having, but for me the exact opposite is true. Dark Mode is MUCH easier on my Eyes.

        BTW- I’m 52, and have worked in IT all my life. Been staring at monitors for hours each day, most days of the week since the late 1980’s.

  11. Anonymous said on September 5, 2023 at 2:05 am
    Reply

    Microsoft completely ruined File Explorer by converting to XAML/WinUI/whatever new bloated modern garbage. Its worse than it ever was.

  12. Invoker said on September 5, 2023 at 3:32 pm
    Reply

    i tested it on win10 current edition. speeds up explorer like a charm

  13. LOEL LARZELERE said on September 13, 2023 at 8:07 am
    Reply

    SO what is the priority numbers to give preference to ethernet over wireless?

  14. christop_bader said on September 14, 2023 at 1:50 am
    Reply

    Worked very well happy to have Windows Photo Viewer back in action in Windows-11

  15. Anonymous said on September 16, 2023 at 4:29 am
    Reply

    Worked for me (registry option) thank god, I can use the search option to find things on my computer again. Thank you so much!

    1. TelV said on September 19, 2023 at 11:54 am
      Reply

      Install Everything Search and dispense with Microsoft’s crappy search tool. https://www.voidtools.com/

      Martin wrote an article on it: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/10/09/add-everything-search-to-the-windows-taskbar-for-even-faster-searches/

  16. said on September 17, 2023 at 6:39 pm
    Reply

    I presume the text “WindowsCopilot,,” is a typographical error (2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/). The broken comment system unfortunately looks like it is populating itself via AI autopilot.

  17. Anonymous said on September 17, 2023 at 10:37 pm
    Reply

    Hopefully, this Windows Copilot nonsense fails even more spectacularly than Cortana. Who requested this? We want all of the UX features removed back in 11, not this copilot nonsense.

  18. Anonymous said on September 17, 2023 at 10:51 pm
    Reply

    I really don’t mind all of these Windows enhancement but Microsoft get one thing very wrong. ‘Opt in’, is far better than seek information and work to disable.

  19. ilev said on September 18, 2023 at 7:13 am
    Reply

    Turn off Windows Copilot entirely is not good enough.

    How to uninstall Copilot entirely ?

    1. TelV said on September 19, 2023 at 11:57 am
      Reply

      @ ilev,

      Use Gpedit or the registry. Explained in this article: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/

  20. WilliamGatesTheight said on September 21, 2023 at 2:13 pm
    Reply

    With that snake oil salesman Panos gone, hopefully Windows can return to a normal desktop operating system without all the insanity it has right now in Windows 11.

  21. Tachy said on September 21, 2023 at 3:19 pm
    Reply

    Can we please stop being ‘politically correct’ (lying) and call them ads again instead of ‘suggestions’?

  22. TelV said on September 25, 2023 at 4:05 pm
    Reply

    @ Martin,

    Does your gpedit hack also turn off all the other “subscribed content” shown in the registry screenshot? Do you happen to know what all those are?

  23. Christopher Reisinger said on September 30, 2023 at 12:45 pm
    Reply

    Thank you, I used the fake email option, it worked great.

  24. Tom Gray said on September 30, 2023 at 8:26 pm
    Reply

    I wish I had read this article a few months ago, as I purchased two refurbished Windows 10 Pro PCs to replace two older ones. The 1st one I entered an existing Microsoft account I had and it imediately setup OneDrive, adding it to the path names for the common folders such as Documents, Music, video, etc. I tried to just disable OneDrive but then had odd problems finding my data copied from another older PC. long story short I was able to remove all the entries from the registry after un-installing OneDrive.
    The second refurbished PC I didn’t connect the WiFi adapter so during installation I was able to click on the no Internet option. Basically I did as you suggested above; set up a local login, disabled OneDrive from running on bootup, and eventually unInstalled it. No problems with folder paths, etc.

  25. Flotsam Jones said on September 30, 2023 at 10:43 pm
    Reply

    The registry option worked for me, but only me, not any other users. How do I make this apply to all users? Yes, I have admin rights.

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