Xbox Games for PC Installed Via Xbox (Beta) App or Microsoft Store Do Not Uninstall Properly

After playing the Grounded Insider Flight a while ago I uninstalled it once the flighting was over. I thought I had uninstalled it by right clicking the app and then selecting uninstall. Searching for the game in the search bar does not bring it up and it does not come up in the Xbox (Beta) app for PC. I thought all was good. I noticed though that no storage space was freed up on my computer. I originally thought maybe it would take some time for the storage space to accurately update so I left this issue unchecked for a long time. Upon checking what is taking up space on my PC using the TreeSize application I found that a folder starting with the title Microsoft.GroundedInsiderFlight is still located on my PC and taking up 2.9 GB which is how big the original download is. This folder is located in the WindowsApps folder and it is protected and owned by the user TrustedInstaller, therefore I cannot right click the game and delete the folder unless I change permissions to access that folder.

I changed permissions on the WindowsApps folder a long-time ago for another problem I had where other games I installed via Xbox Game Pass for PC were not uninstalling properly. When I right clicked those games and selected uninstall from either the Windows search bar or the Xbox (Beta) application this exact same issue happened where the game would appear uninstalled, as I could no longer access or find it, but no storage space was freed up. On the Microsoft store and the Xbox app, I tested both, I was prompted to install said game again if I looked for it but it would reinstall a 50+ GB game instantly because it would find that the files were still installed, proving the games had not been uninstalled properly! After I changed permissions to access that folder, I was unable to give permissions back properly to TrustedInstaller so that it had permissions for all folders and inherited folders in the WindowsApps folder. This inability to return full permissions back to TrustedInstaller led to Windows 10 not functioning properly overtime and I had to do a reset on the entire operating system and start from scratch to get basic Windows apps functioning properly again.

With that out of the way, I would rather not change permissions on the WindowsApps folder or do anything to that folder. Does anyone know what I can do to uninstall this game (the Insider Flight version of Grounded) or can they help lead me to Microsoft/Xbox employees that can help fix this issue in order for games installed from the Microsoft Store or the Xbox (Beta) app to be properly uninstalled. I found a solution on a forum where I attempt to reinstall the game but cancel it before it finishes instantly, and this actually seemed to work and completely uninstalled a game I was struggling to uninstall via the methods described above. The problem with this Insider Flight of Grounded is that I cannot try this method as it does not come up on the Microsoft Store anymore because the Game Preview version of Grounded has been released and it is technically another game available on the Microsoft Store that takes up space in a separate folder within the WindowsApps folder.

submitted by /u/ArthurofHyrule
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