Game Pass for PC (Beta) Game Installation Location

MichaelBraucht · May 4, 2020

Good Afternoon,

From someone who has a mild case of OCD, the ability to add the feature for you to be able to select a location where you install each game seems like it would be a fairly simple thing to do.

For Example:

I use a F:\Games\ drive specifically to install my games into. I found where to allow windows 10 to install "apps" onto that drive, but of course all kinds of extra folders are added such as my profile folder, a program files folder, and WUDownloadCache,
WindowsApps, WPsystem, DeliveryOptimization.

When installing the Xbox Pass application, the option to be able specify where they folders land, or containing them in a root folder such as "Xbox Game Pass" seems that it would clean things up tremendously.

Is this an option I missed during my installation of the app or a buried setting somewhere? As I don't like the way it decided to install on my root drive and didn't even bother asking me or provide the option to install the xbox game pass elsewhere.

:)

matthewiag

I did attempt this I even added my account to the list but it still said I did not have privileges to do so. It was when the App was first released though so it might have been fixed.

Tezzarrific

I did the same, I have installed them to my seconds SSD and theses files appeared and they could not be deleted because they had elevated privileges to protect to content. I had to Format the drive to remove them.

If you install them to the C drive the files are not created.

no need to format the drive just change the security on the folders and then you can delete, its what i always do.

matthewiag

I did the same, I have installed them to my seconds SSD and theses files appeared and they could not be deleted because they had elevated privileges to protect to content. I had to Format the drive to remove them.

If you install them to the C drive the files are not created.

Obsessive Power

Hi,

I'm afraid that isn't possible. Game Pass on PC isn't a stand alone application like Steam or Origin, it's actually just an add-on for The Windows Store. All games install via the Store, not the app.

The Windows Store uses the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) and hence it uses all the folders you've mentioned, although WUDownloadCache, WPsystem and DeliveryOptimization folders should only be on the C:\ drive, any
other drive should just be the 'WindowsApps' folder.

Don"t get me wrong, I still don"t think it"s a great system, and the encryption of the WindowsApps folder makes backups impossible. But I'll tolerate it for Game Pass.

Obsessive Power

no need to format the drive just change the security on the folders and then you can delete, its what i always do.

I've tried this multiple times, it doesn't work, changing the ownership doesn't work. However, booting a copy of Linux from a USB Flash drive should allow you to delete protected Windows 10 files.

Game Pass for PC (Beta) Game Installation Location