If you’re one of the millions of PC Game Pass subscribers, or if you just like using the Xbox app on Windows, there’s a welcome new feature in the official Xbox app: now you can install games wherever you want on your PC, and you’re free to browse your games’ files, too.
In the past, the Xbox app on Windows has restricted users to installing games to a WindowsApps or XboxGames folder, which was originally inaccessible without changing permissions on your operating system. While that offered an additional layer of security, it made modding games difficult – if not impossible – and it frequently made managing multiple games a pain.
The latest version of the Xbox app lets you pick where you want to install your games. You can create a folder on any of your storage devices, and browse through game files once they’re installed, just like you can on Steam. One of the major benefits of this is that you’ll now be able to easily backup and restore any game files you might want, such as saves.
According to The Verge, the update should be arriving on all Windows 10/11 PCs today, so keep an eye out for it on the Microsoft Store app.