For those who have an Xbox Ally or Ally X, or even just the standard ASUS ROG Ally, you’ll notice that when integrating games from Steam into the Xbox App, the experience leaves a lot to be desired, with game artwork not matching up with games installed via the Xbox App, instead offering either dummy artwork or just the games app icon which does make them stick out and not in a good way.
Fortunately, SteamGridDB fixes this. An app available for free via the Microsoft Store will automatically apply proper game artwork to their respective titles when searching through your game library on the Xbox Ally, Xbox Ally X, and other devices that have the Xbox App, like the Lenovo Legion Go 2.
The app was only released yesterday and was spotted by the website rogallylife first, as far as I can tell, and is developed by “lirrik” on GitHub.
How to install SteamGridDB for Xbox and apply custom artwork
Getting SteamGridDB for Xbox up and running only takes a minute, but there’s one important permissions step the app needs before it can touch the Xbox app’s artwork files. Follow this flow and you’ll have clean, consistent game tiles across Steam, GOG, Epic, and more.
Install the SteamGridDB for Xbox app
Grab the widget directly from the Microsoft Store:
Microsoft Store page: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9pkqx0rjc32v
GitHub (for transparency and updates): https://github.com/lirrik/steamgriddb-xbox
Install it like any other Game Bar widget.
Enable file system access (required)
Because Game Bar widgets live inside a sandbox and don’t get normal folder pickers, the developer had to request special permission from Microsoft. You’ll need to toggle this manually.
Here’s the path:
- Open Settings
- Go to Privacy & security
- Select File system
- Under “Let apps access your file system”, find SteamGridDB for Xbox
- Toggle it On
Choose artwork for each game
The widget handles stores differently:
- Steam and GOG: Auto-detection works immediately. You’ll see proper artwork appear for each title with no extra steps.
- Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Connect: Search for these manually by typing the game’s name into the widget. It’ll pull artwork from SteamGridDB instantly.
- Battle.net: Not supported. Battle.net stores art differently and the Xbox app doesn’t expose those images in a usable format.
Apply the artwork
Select a game, pick the artwork you like, and the widget replaces the Xbox app’s image in seconds.
Restart the Xbox app (optional but helpful)
The Xbox app usually updates the artwork instantly, but if you don’t see the new image right away, give the app a quick restart and everything should refresh.
Now of course it's not perfect and as far as I can tell you do have to manually apply the artwork to each game but it is a huge step up from the default artwork you currently get when a game is added to the Xbox app via Steam.
FAQ
What devices does SteamGridDB for Xbox work on?
Any Windows 11 device that can run the Xbox Game Bar widget system. That includes the Xbox Ally, Xbox Ally X, ROG Ally, MSI Claw, laptops, desktops, and other handheld PCs.
Does this work inside the Xbox Full Screen Experience?
Yes. Once the artwork is swapped in the Xbox app itself, the Full Screen Experience displays the updated images automatically.
Is it safe to enable file system access?
Yes. According to the developer, the widget only reads and replaces artwork files stored by the Xbox app for third-party game library entries. It doesn’t read unrelated files or scan your system.
Will Battle.net games ever be supported?
Very unlikely. Battle.net stores artwork in a separate internal format, and the Xbox app doesn’t save usable images for those games. The developer states Battle.net is essentially off the table.
Is this app officially supported by Microsoft?
No. It’s a community-made tool published on the Microsoft Store with Microsoft-approved permissions, but it’s not an official Xbox feature.
The Xbox Ally X is a worthy successor to the ROG Ally X and offers excellent handheld performance to keep up with a wide library of PC games. Its grips also provide a very comfortable holding experience on a handheld.
The Xbox Ally is a Windows handheld gaming PC that can access various games and services, but can also be used like a regular computer if you connect the right accessories. It utilizes an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Follow Windows Central on Google News to keep our latest news, insights, and features at the top of your feeds!
