How to Delete a Game from Xbox One

Microsoft’s Xbox One console has more power than any other Xbox console that came before it. Because of that raw power, games look better and feel more realistic. That’s great for everyone. We need a way to truly differentiate the experience users got with the Xbox 360 and what’s available with the Xbox One.

Storage is the problem. More specifically, storage management. Xbox One games are absolutely huge. Install a lot of small titles and your fine. Keep installing big name titles like Assassin’s Creed Unity and you’re going to hit a wall fairly quickly. Most Xbox One’s have 500GB of storage, more than almost every Xbox 360 sold, however Xbox 360 games weren’t as big as what we’re getting from game developers today. You can add external storage to the Xbox One to deal with this problem.

Or you can just make room for newer games by deleting your old ones. Here’s how to delete a game from Xbox One.

Turn on your Xbox One by saying “Xbox, On” if you have a Kinect 2 sensor or by pressing the power button on the console itself or a controller you’ve previously paired with it.

Say “Xbox, go to My Games and Apps” or use your controller to select the My Games and Apps tile just to the right of the largest square on your screen.

Welcome to My Games and Apps. This is where everything that you have on your Xbox One is stored. From here you can move games to an external hard drive and more. Don’t use the joystick on your Xbox One to navigate anywhere else in the menu on the left. Instead, push your joystick to the right to move into the Games area. Since the Xbox One stores all games here, the game you are looking to delete will be listed here.

For the purposes of this tutorial we’re uninstalling Killer Instinct, the free game that Microsoft lets anyone download in exchange for having to pay for new characters. Hover over the game you’d like to delete now. Don’t push any other buttons once you do.

If you’ve used a Kinect 2 sensor to navigate here with voice commands, now you’ll need to pick up your controller. Games and apps on the Xbox One are selectable just like apps and files are on a Windows PC. Once you’re hovering over one you can press the menu button for more options related to that game just like you can when you right-click on a picture or song on your PC. Press the Menu button on your controller. It’s the button to the right of the Xbox logo with three lines.

Select Manage Game.

Welcome to the Manage area. It’s this screen that allows you to see details about each game. From here you can see if you own any add-ons. You can also see how much space a single game is taking up on your Xbox One hard drive. Don’t move your joystick. Instead, simply press the A button on your controller.

Now press A again to uninstall the game you selected.

The Xbox One will ask for confirmation again to make sure it’s a good idea. If you’re still sure you want to uninstall it move the cursor to the right to highlight Uninstall and press the A button again.

Now you’re back at the management screen. If for some reason you ever want to reinstall the game again, this is where you’d do it. Press B to exit.

Now the game should be gone from your list of installed titles. You can install it again from the Ready to Install area on the far right of your screen. That’s what gives you access to the Manage menu for each game in your library – provided it’s a digital title and not one you purchased on a disc.

Absolutely do not uninstall a game you’re thinking about playing in the near future even if it’s on disc. The Xbox One requires that gamers install a part of each game on their console even if it was purchased at a store. Delete the install file for a game you have on a disc and you’ll need to install that game again before you can go back to it.

For digital games, not uninstalling titles you’re going to want to play in the near future is even more key. Xbox One disc based games require an install, but digital games are completely stored on your Xbox One’s hard drive. A light Xbox One game like Killer Instinct is around 10GB. That number balloons depending on which game you’re installing. Titanfall, which only boasts a multiplayer experience, is a whopping 20GB. That’s a lot of data you’re going to need to download again when you decide to play. And it’s not like Xbox One game installs move very quickly. It can take hours to install a big-name game depending on how speedy your internet connection is.