For years, if you downloaded a game like Forza Horizon or Gears of War via the Microsoft Store or Xbox Game Pass, it felt like the game wasn't installed on your computer so much as it was absorbed by it. Users who went looking for their new 100GB purchase were met with a digital ghost town.
Unlike standalone installers ( .exe ), all games and apps from the Microsoft Store are installed into a protected system folder named . This folder is located inside the main Windows installation directory. windows store game install location
This folder is hidden by default. To see it, you must enable Hidden items under the "View" tab in File Explorer. For years, if you downloaded a game like
For users playing via or the Xbox App , recent updates allow for more flexibility: In the Xbox App, you can go to Settings > Install Options . This folder is located inside the main Windows
Select (or "Change where new content is saved" on older versions).