How to Move Steam Games to Another Drive
Move Steam games to an SSD or larger drive using Steam's built-in storage manager — no re-downloading required for individual titles.
Why Move Games to Another Drive?
Running out of space on your C: drive, upgrading to a faster SSD, or organizing games across multiple drives are all common reasons. Steam has a built-in move feature that relocates games without re-downloading them — much faster than uninstalling and reinstalling.
Step 1 — Add a New Steam Library Folder
Open Steam → Settings → Storage. Click the + button next to a drive letter and choose Add Drive. Select your target drive and confirm. Steam creates a new steamapps folder on that drive.
Step 2 — Move an Individual Game
In Settings → Storage, click the drive where the game currently lives. Find the game in the list, click it, then click Move. Choose the destination drive and confirm. Steam copies files and removes the original — progress shows in the download bar.
Step 3 — Move Multiple Games
You can move games one at a time from the Storage panel. For bulk moves, third-party tools like Steam Mover or SLM (Steam Library Manager) can relocate entire library folders, but the built-in tool is safest for most users.
Step 4 — Move Your Entire Steam Installation
To relocate all of Steam (not just one game): exit Steam, move the entire Steam folder to the new drive, then run Steam.exe from the new location. Steam updates its internal paths automatically. Create a new desktop shortcut pointing to the new location.
Step 5 — Verify After Moving
Launch each moved game once to confirm it runs correctly. If a game fails, right-click it → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Steam repairs any files that didn't copy cleanly.
Step 6 — Set Default Install Location
In Settings → Storage, right-click your preferred drive and choose Make Default. All future installs go to that drive automatically, saving you from moving games later.
Move Games Checklist
- Add target drive in Settings → Storage
- Select game → Move to new drive
- Verify game files after moving
- Set preferred drive as default for new installs
- Update desktop shortcut if moving entire Steam folder