Xbox app for Windows lets users customize PC game installation folder

Users will soon be able to change the installation folder for PC games from the Microsoft Store or Xbox Game Pass for PC. Currently, such PC games are installed in the protected WindowsApps folder, which users do not have access to by default.

Sources tell The Verge that Microsoft is working on an update to the Xbox app for Windows that will make this change. The updated Xbox app allows users to install PC games from the Microsoft Store or Xbox Game Pass for PC. With the update, users can install games in folders of their choice. After the update, gamers will also be able to access the files of games they have installed via the Xbox app. This makes it possible, for example, to backup and mod such games, which was previously only possible to a limited extent.

Games from the Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass for PC are currently installed automatically in the hidden WindowsApps folder, which Windows users don’t have access to by default. That makes it impossible to view, modify, save elsewhere or manually delete the game files. Other game launchers, such as Steam and the Epic Games Store, already offer these possibilities.

Microsoft has now officially confirmed its plans to The Verge. The updated Xbox app is currently being tested internally within Microsoft. It is unknown when the update will be officially released. The Verge expects this to happen soon as Microsoft releases Halo Infinite and its free-to-play multiplayer on December 8.

The Xbox app for Windows. Source: Microsoft