While the Microsoft Store has a wide variety of games, it lacks preview options. To play the game you must first download and install it. But now, the good news is that you can play instant games through Microsoft Store apps directly on Windows 11 without installation.
What exactly are "instant games"? In short, it is a casual game that can be played easily without spending too much effort. You can find these Instant Games in the Collection section of the store. Microsoft calls it "Instant Games," but no such category exists in the Microsoft App Store. Instead, the Collection section organizes all games that support the feature.
All instant games have an orange logo for easy identification. In addition, in version 22312.1401.4.0 of the Microsoft Store, the options in the vertical menu on the left allow you to enter these games directly. But in version 22312.1401.5.0, Microsoft removed this option.
Microsoft is working with several game developers to bring this concept to life. Currently, 69 games are playable without installation. Allowing users to experience the content of the game first-hand helps them make more informed purchasing decisions.
How to play instant games in Windows 11
First, upgrade the Microsoft Store app to the latest version from the gallery and then try the following steps:
Launch Microsoft Store and click on the "Games" > "Collections" option.
Hover your mouse over the game and click the "Start Now" button.
The game will be available in a separate window on the Microsoft Store.
To install the game, click the "View in Microsoft Store" button.
Click the Get button.
The game runs normally and does not take up a lot of system resources. Don't expect them to look or play like Asphalt 8 or other graphically attractive games, but they look and run mostly fine. As expected, all games contain ads, which is not satisfying.
Imagine watching a 30-second ad when you can just exit the main menu to retry a level. Although there is no close button to end the game session, it saves the game progress.
So when you restart the Microsoft Store, you don't have to start from scratch. Even the sidebar of the Edge browser offers similar functionality, where you can play similar mini-games.
While these games are nostalgic and can keep you hooked for a while, they can become very repetitive after a while. Additionally, some games are not optimized for large screens and look terrible when opened in portrait mode.
Windows PC users won't be digging into the Microsoft App Store to find and play these games because they can play them on their phones regardless of platform, but there's nothing enticing here that will compel users to play these games regularly.