How to Move a Steam Game to Another Drive, The Easy Way
Steam offers multiple library folders, and you can choose where you want to install games when you download them. And, thanks to a recent update, you can easily move a game after you’ve downloaded it without re-downloading the entire thing.
This process can save you from downloading tens or even hundreds of gigabytes of game data all over again, just because you got a new SSD and want to move a few games. It’s different from moving an entire Steam library folder, which moves every single game inside it—the following process will let you move only a few games rather than the whole library.
This process was much more complex a few years ago, but it’s now integrated into Steam. We confirmed this still works the same way in June 2020. Steam looks a bit different from in our screenshots, but all the options are in the same place.
Step One: Create a Second Steam Folder
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First, you’ll need to make a Steam library folder on the second drive if you haven’t already done so. To do this in Steam, click Steam > Settings. Select the “Downloads” category and click the “Steam Library Folders” button.
Click “Add Library Folder”, select the drive you want to create the library folder on, and click “New Folder”. Give it whatever name you like, click “OK”, and then click “Select” to choose the folder you just created.
The folder you chose will appear in the Steam Library folders list. You can now close this window.
Step Two: Move the Games Files to the Second Library
To move an installed game once you’ve added a second library, right-click it in your Steam library and select “Properties”.
Click the “Local Files” tab and click the “Move Install Folder” button. Select the Steam library you want to move the game to and click the “Move Folder” button.
You’re done. Steam will move the game’s files to the other library location. To move other games, just repeat this process.
When installing a game in the future, Steam will ask which library you want to install it to, but you should be able to move your games at any time.
Chris HoffmanChris Hoffman is Editor in Chief of How-To Geek. He's written about technology for nearly a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than 500 million times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.
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