The remedy? Microsoft cooked up a dedicated "leftover add-ons" tool, accessible through the Xbox system settings. It means that while an Xbox game may disappear from your games library, some leftovers could eat up space in the background. While uninstalling games usually removes the associated content, various expansions, map packs, and other downloadable content (DLC) may linger over time.
Leftover add-ons on Xbox Series X and Series S can accumulate over time as you delete titles on your hard drive. Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)įreeing up existing Xbox storage doesn't mean uninstalling your favorite games, and there's one lesser-known feature that feels like a "trick." The Xbox Series X and Series S both stow a menu dedicated to clearing up leftover add-ons, and that could highlight several unwanted gigabytes blocking up your system. Storage solutions like Toshiba's affordable Canvio Basics series can hugely expand your console on a budget. You don't have to uninstall games - a cheap hard drive can be used to offload the extras.
You're ultimately fighting a battle that's hard to topple, with Xbox games larger than ever, but base console storage almost unchanged for a decade to retain lower prices. These storage behemoths are among those guaranteed to occupy a huge slice of your Xbox console storage if left unchecked. Titles like NBA 2K21, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Cyberpunk 2077 are also similarly storage-hungry by comparison.
The common culprits include Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War, Modern Warfare, and Warzone, hugely popular, and occupying almost an entire Xbox Series S console when together.
This sorting option organizes your game collection based on its digital footprint with a numerical GB value. You can review your games and apps, alongside their installation sizes, but navigating to My games and apps > Sort A-Z > and selecting Sort by size. It's also worth checking file sizes and understanding which Xbox games swallow the most internal storage.