How do I move Microsoft Store games to another drive?

If you are running low on storage space on your primary drive (usually the C: drive), you may want to move your Microsoft Store games to another drive. This can free up valuable storage space on your main drive for other programs and files. Here are the steps to move Microsoft Store games to another drive on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.

Prerequisites

Before moving your games, make sure you have the following:

• A secondary internal hard drive or solid state drive (SSD) with sufficient storage space for your games.
• The secondary drive must be formatted using the NTFS file system.
• Your user account must have administrator privileges on the computer.

Step 1: Add a new drive letter for the secondary drive

First, you need to add a drive letter to your secondary drive if it does not already have one. Here is how to do this:

1. Open File Explorer and right-click on This PC (or Computer) in the left pane.
2. Select Manage from the context menu.
3. In the Computer Management window, click Disk Management on the left.
4. Right-click the partition you want to change and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5. Click Add and assign an unused drive letter.
6. Click OK to apply the changes.

Your secondary drive will now have a drive letter that you can access it from.

Step 2: Take ownership of the game installation folder

By default, the WindowsApps folder containing your installed Microsoft Store games is owned by the system. To move the game files, you need to take ownership of the folder first:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the C:\Program Files\WindowsApps folder.
2. Right-click on the WindowsApps folder and select Properties.
3. Switch to the Security tab and click Advanced.
4. In the Advanced Security Settings window, click Change next to the Owner field.
5. Enter your username and click OK. Confirm the prompt.
6. You now have ownership of the WindowsApps folder.

Step 3: Move the game installation folder

Now you can move the game installation folder to your secondary drive:

1. Navigate to the WindowsApps folder on your C: drive.
2. Locate the folder for the game you want to move. It will be a long named folder.
3. Right-click on the folder and select Cut.
4. Open your secondary drive in File Explorer and paste the folder here.
5. If prompted, continue past any permission warnings. The folder will now move over.

The game files are now located on your secondary drive.

Step 4: Create a junction point

To allow the Microsoft Store to still see and manage the game properly, you need to create a junction point. This will essentially create a symbolic link between the old and new location of the game files. Here is how to create a junction point:

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt window.
2. Navigate to the original WindowsApps folder using this command:
   cd C:\Program Files\WindowsApps
3. Create the junction point with this command:
   
   mklink /J "<GameFolderName>" "D:\MS_Games\\<GameFolderName>"
   
   Replace <GameFolderName> with the game folder name, and update the drive letter D: to match your secondary drive.

This will create a seamless symbolic link between the old and new location for the Microsoft Store to follow.

Step 5: Confirm the change

You can confirm the game files were moved properly by trying to launch the game from the Microsoft Store app. The game should open and run as normal. You can also check that the file size on your C: drive has reduced as expected. The junction point will make it appear seamlessly integrated still.

Additionally, you can double check that the game files are indeed on the second drive by navigating to the folder location directly.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can successfully relocate Microsoft Store games to another drive on your Windows PC. This allows you to free up valuable space on your primary C: drive by moving large game files. Just be sure to take ownership of the WindowsApps folder first, then create a junction point after moving the files to keep the Microsoft Store integration intact.

Some key things to remember:

• The secondary drive must use the NTFS file system.
• Take ownership of WindowsApps before moving files.
• Use the mklink command to create a seamless junction point.
• Confirm the game launches properly after moving.

Following these steps carefully will ensure you can move even the largest modern games to another drive with no issues. Just take care when manipulating the WindowsApps protected folder to avoid potential problems down the line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this method supported by Microsoft?

No, Microsoft does not officially support manually moving files out of the WindowsApps folder. This is because the folder is carefully managed by Windows and the Microsoft Store. However, many users have successfully used the junction point method without issues.

Will my saves be affected?

No, your game saves are stored separately in the Windows user profile folder. As long as you don’t delete the original WindowsApps folder, your saves will remain intact when you move a game.

Can I move games between drives?

Yes, you can use this method to move games back and forth between drives if needed. Just remember to recreate the junction point each time.

What happens when a game updates?

When a moved game updates, the files will download to the new location on the secondary drive. No special action is needed unless you change the drive letter down the line.

Is there a way to automate this process?

There are some third-party tools that can automate moving Microsoft Store games between drives, such as Steam Mover or GamePipe. But manual is safest if you only need to move a game once.

Can I move Xbox Game Pass games too?

Yes, Xbox Game Pass titles from the Microsoft Store can be moved exactly the same way using these steps.

Table Comparing Drive Speeds

Drive Type	Average Read Speed	Average Write Speed
HDD (hard disk drive)	100 MB/s	80 MB/s
SATA SSD	550 MB/s	520 MB/s
NVMe SSD	3500 MB/s	3000 MB/s

This table compares average read and write speeds for different drive types. HDDs are the slowest, followed by SATA SSDs. NVMe SSDs are the fastest by far. So moving games to an SSD can improve loading times.

More Tips for Managing Storage

Here are some additional tips for managing your storage when gaming on a Windows PC:

• Use Disk Cleanup to remove temporary files and system files from your primary drive.
• Uninstall games you no longer play to free up the most space.
• Store documents, photos, videos and other media on a secondary HDD.
• Use OneDrive or an external drive for backup to reduce space used.
• Disable hibernation and reduce the page file size to minimize system file usage.

Combining these tips with selectively moving Microsoft Store games to another drive can help you take back control of storage use on your gaming PC.

Carefully moving WindowsApps folders using junction points takes some expertise, but the benefits are well worth it. Just be sure to follow each step closely when relocating your biggest game folders to secondary drives.