For a long time, gamers have been requesting Steam to release a storage management feature for the platform. It took a while for Valve to get the job done, but it’s here now and that’s all that matters. The feature is called Steam’s Storage Manager, and it works better than you might think.
This feature is not made to be easily found, for some unknown reason. But that’s OK, we are going to explain everything. As it stands right now, the days of using external applications, watching videos on YouTube, or searching through various forums on the internet just so you can learn how to move games without corrupting them are long gone.
What is Steam Storage Manager?
The Steam Storage Manager is a tool designed to help gamers visualize the amount of space each video game uses. Not only that, but this feature can sort each game with ease, and folks can use it to uninstall or move titles in bulk. There is no need to play around with \SteamLibrary folders anymore where games tend to have different folder names.
How to use Steam Storage Manager
To use the Steam Storage Manager feature, you must go to Steam Library Folder and create a new one. From there, move the games to the new folder at will.
How to find Steam Storage Manager
The first thing you want to do here is to open the Storage Manager. You might think this is a straightforward task, but that is not the case at all. So, let us explain what needs to be done right now.
Begin by launching into Steam.
Sign in using your official Steam credentials if you haven’t already.
Click on Steam, then navigate to Settings.
From there, go to Downloads > Steam Library Folders.
Right away the Storage Manager window will appear.
Alternatively, you could get to the Storage Manager via a different method. All you have to do is click on the Downloads button at the bottom of the Steam application.
Next, click on the Settings icon located at the top-right corner of the window.
Finally, click on Steam Library Folders to open the Steam Storage Manager.
Add a new Steam Library Folder or Drive
The Storage Manager makes it possible for users to add a new Steam Library Folder inside of the same drive or a new drive.
To add a new drive, you must click on the plus icon beside the relevant drive.
From there, click the blue button that reads, Add.
Right away the new drive will be made visible.
When it comes down to adding a folder, then, you should click the plus icon next to the new drive.
A list will appear with a bunch of folders.
This is where you will create a new \SteamLibrary folder if the new drive doesn’t have one already.
Create a default Steam Library Folder or Drive
In terms of convenience, we suggest setting a default folder so that you won’t have to select where your video game goes every time one is downloaded from the Steam store. Now, in most cases a default folder has already been set, but is it possible to set another one? Yes, you can, and we’re going to explain how.
From the Storage Manager window, please choose the drive you wish to use.
Click on the three-dotted button to the right.
A drop-down menu will appear right away.
From that menu, select Make Default.
If a star appears beside the drive name, then you can be confident it is the default drive until changed.
Move games on Steam to another folder
After adding a new drive and setting another folder as the default, then it’s time to move games around. This is easily done with just a few clicks of the mouse button, so let us discuss this.
Ensure the Storage Manager window is up and running.
After that, select the drive where the games are stored.
You should see a list of games, in fact, all the games currently installed on the drive.
You can now select one or more games by using the tick box next to each title.
Once the correct titles have been chosen, you must now click on the Move button.
Select the drive or folder to which you want the game files transferred to.
READ: Steam Game unpacking slow? Speed up unpacking!
How does Steam’s storage management page work?
A complete overhaul was done to the Steam storage management page a while back. The idea was to make it easier for users to manage their game libraries. Folks who have a large hard drive for the purpose of storage, and a small SSD for speed, can use this feature to move games back and forth between the two drives.
How do I get to the Steam storage manager?
In order to find your way to the Steam Storage Manager, you must open Steam and then click on the Steam button. From there, select Settings via the dropdown menu. Navigate to Downloads, and once done, go to Steam Library Folders. You should now come across the Storage Manager where you’ll be able to manage all of your Steam games with ease.
