HiGame

Microsoft announced it has made some significant backend improvements to the Windows 10 Store that technically allow for offline play — but the number of hoops you’ll need to jump through to enable this feature remains significant. Offline play is one aspect*of the Windows Store that’s lagged well behind competitors like Steam or even services like Origin, so it’s good to see Microsoft making an effort to offer this feature.

There are more details on how to enable this capability over at the Xbox support site, and you’ll want to read about the capabilities and restrictions of the mode before you start fussing with it. The first thing to know is that unlike Steam, which allows offline play from any device associated with your account, the Windows 10 Store only allows you to have one designated offline device — and you can only change which device is designated three times a year. To set an account to offline, perform the following steps:

• Make sure that you’re online.
• Check that your device has the latest Windows updates: Go to Start > Settings > Update & security > Windows Update and see if any relevant updates are available.
• Open the Store. You’ll be prompted to sign in if you haven’t already.
• Select the Me icon (this is your profile picture).
• Select Settings, and then under Offline Permissions, make sure that the toggle is set to On.

Once you’ve completed this step, you’ll need to launch each title individually that you want to play in offline mode.

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