Windows’ legacy video app is on the chopping block

Halloween apparently isn’t over. Microsoft is taking the knife to two legacy apps within Windows 11: Windows Maps and Movies & TV. But it’s syncing up with the Xbox app to give you even more flexibility on where to download games.

The changes arrive as part of Windows Insider Build 25987, in the Canary Channel. Recall that Canary is the far-future channel, where Microsoft tests out brand new concepts that may never see the light of day.

As part of the installation process, Microsoft said that it would eliminate both the Windows Maps and Movie & TV apps from new installations. Both apps will remain if you’re simply resetting your PC. In either case, Microsoft said that it would also keep the apps on the Windows Store, where they will be updated as well.

This isn’t unsual; Microsoft’s telemetry tells it what apps are being used, and therefore which apps need to be maintained and updated. But Microsoft has always tried to purge apps that aren’t being used to reduce its own development load, and cut some of the bloat from Windows. These two apps appear to be the latest casualties.

Both Canary Build 25987 and a related Dev Channel build, 23580, will also incorporate the flexibility Microsoft has been adding to the Xbox app. The latter app now allows you to download a game to a drive of you’re choosing, and not just the main boot drive, C:. The Microsoft Store is being synced with the Xbox app to allow you to download the game to other drives, too. That’s a plus, since Microsoft is now allowing you to not only store games on your boot drive, but also to use a gaming SSD for additional storage.

The Dev Channel build is also promising increased throughput on files shared with nearby share, removing the need to create a private network and allowing users to use a public one if it’s available.