You can now add third-party games to your Xbox App library

According to Pure Xbox (via WindowsCentral), the integration process is pretty straightforward. By opening the library tab and selecting the new plus icon, the app will automatically suggest recently installed software it recognises. For everything else, a manual browse option opens up File Explorer, allowing you to pick anything you can find on Windows Explorer. Because these are essentially shortcuts, the Xbox App doesn't interfere with the files themselves. As such, updates and patches are still handled by the original developers or their respective storefronts.

Image credit: Pure Xbox

Like many other changes Xbox has been employing lately, this new feature suggests a broader recognition of a “PC” mindset, acknowledging that most gamers don't live exclusively within one store's walls. For users who have invested in the Xbox Game Pass ecosystem but still have a sprawling library of titles from GOG, Epic, or standalone installers, this feature provides a way to declutter the desktop without sacrificing the UI experience Microsoft has been refining. It is a small but meaningful QoL improvement that treats the Xbox App as a legitimate portal for the entire PC experience rather than just a walled garden for Microsoft's own catalogue.

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KitGuru says: By letting us add our own applications and games to the Xbox App, Microsoft is somewhat admitting that the ‘Xbox experience' on PC is better when it plays nice with the rest of our system. It might not be a revolutionary technical leap, but for anyone who often goes through launchers to find a specific game, having a single hub is a massive upgrade.

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