5 Ways for How to Recover Deleted Games on Windows 11/10 PC [2023 Guide]

If you've accidentally deleted a game on your Windows PC after making significant progress, or deleted it in a fit of rage after losing to a boss or getting stuck on a level, you might be regretting your actions. Fortunately, there are methods to restore deleted games on your Windows 11/10 PC. This tutorial will guide you through 5 different approaches to retrieve your deleted game, helping you recover your progress and get back to gaming.

Quick Navigation

Method 1: Restore Deleted Games on PC by Restoring from Recycle Bin

Method 2: Use Software to Recover Deleted Games on PC

Method 3: Use Windows File Recovery Tool to Get Games Back

Method 4: Use System Restore Points on Windows 11/10 to Retrieve Deleted Games

Method 5: Use File History to Fin Deleted Games in Windows 11/10

Method 1: Restore Deleted Games on PC by Restoring from Recycle Bin

When you accidentally delete a game from your Windows computer, the first place to check for recovery is the Recycle Bin. This is because Windows temporarily stores deleted files in the Recycle Bin, allowing you to retrieve them if needed. Simply open the Recycle Bin, navigate to the folder where the game was deleted, and look for the game's file. If it's still there, you can restore it to its original location.

1. Double click on the recycle bin to open it.
2. Go through the files in the recycle bin and locate your game file.
3. Once your find it, right-click on the game file.
4. Click on Restore in the list that shows.

Restoring the game file will move it back to its original location before it was deleted. This process will return the file to its previous state, effectively undoing the deletion.

NB: The file is only in the recycle bin if deleted with a right-click and "delete" or with the Shift key, and not if deleted permanently with Shift+Del. If deleted from an external drive, it's also not in the recycle bin.

Method 2: Use Software to Recover Deleted Games on PC

If you've permanently deleted a game file and it's not in the recycle bin, you can still recover it using Deep Data Recovery software. This tool offers two efficient scanning modes to help you get back deleted files, including game files, with ease. It's user-friendly and doesn't require special training to use. With its compatibility with various file types, you can be sure to recover your game file.

To proceed with the game data recovery process using Qiling;

1. It's recommended to download and launch the software from an external device, such as a USB drive, to increase the chances of recovering your game file.
2. After clicking "start", you'll need to select the location to scan for the game file, including the partition or disk drive where it was originally located, which may also include external storage devices. The program will then scan this location and display the results of the search. For specific lost data locations like desktop, favorites, or libraries, you'll need to select the system partition to recover deleted files.

The process begins by clicking "Go to setting" to select the desired file type to recover. By default, all file types are checked, but you can uncheck any unnecessary ones. To maximize the recovery chances, it's recommended to select all file types.


3. After scanning, preview the list of found files and restore them to their original location. Then, go through the list of files that were detected during the scan and try to locate your game file among them.

Using software to restore files requires care, as it involves data restructuring. To increase the chances of successful file recovery, it's recommended that you refrain from installing any software on your computer prior to the recovery process, as this could potentially damage your data.

Method 3: Use Windows File Recovery Tool to Get Games Back

To recover your game files for free, you'll need to download and install the Windows File Recovery Tool from the Microsoft store. However, this requires some training and understanding, and you'll need to ensure your Windows 10 is compatible by checking its version (the tool is available for Windows 10 version 2004 and onwards).

Window Recovery Tool operates in three different modes:

• Recuva is a software that can recover files deleted recently from an NTFS partition or volume. It works by scanning the drive for deleted files and allowing the user to select and recover the desired files.
• Segment Mode is a feature that can recover files deleted a long time ago, as well as files from a formatted or corrupted NTFS disk.
• Signature Mode is used when Segment mode fails or when the volume is a non-NTFS volume/partition.

To recover a deleted game on Windows 11/10, you can use the Windows Recovery Tool, also known as the Windows File Recovery Tool. This tool can help you recover deleted files, including games, from your computer.

1. Download and install the tool from Microsoft Store.
2. Once the installation is complete, the tool will be launched automatically. If not, you can open it by searching for it in Windows search.
3. Click on Yes if the User Control Window comes up.
4. To recover files using the Winfr command, type "winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/switches]" in the Command Prompt interface. This command structure requires you to specify the source drive from which you want to recover files and the destination drive where the recovered files will be saved. It's essential to use different drives for the source and destination to avoid overwriting existing files on the destination drive.

To use a Default mode command, type "winfr" followed by the source and destination drives, then the search filter. For example, to search for files from drive D: to drive F: and save them to the "Princeofpersia" folder in your "John" user directory, you would type "winfr D: F: /n \Users\John\Princeofpersia". If your search filter contains spaces, enclose it in double quotes.

The recovery process may take some time, depending on the amount of data being recovered.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the method above, don't worry! You can use a Qiling hard drive recovery program, which is much easier to use, or try the methods that follow. This approach requires a bit of knowledge and understanding, but the alternative options are readily available to help you recover your data.

Method 4: Use System Restore Points on Windows 11/10 to Retrieve Deleted Games

If the previous method fails, you can get your game file back using a recent backup. Windows System Restore Point works by creating an image copy of Windows files and other information. When needed, you can use this image copy to recover files like your games by restoring Windows to a state where it contained these deleted files. To recover your game file using Windows System Restore, you can follow these steps: create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system, then use the System Restore tool to revert Windows to a previous state where your game file still existed. This way, you can recover your game file without losing any other important data.

1. To create a restore point, open the Control Panel, click on the System and Security icon, then click on the System icon. In the left-hand menu, click on the System Protection link.
2. Once the Window appears, click on System Restore and then click on Next.
3. To resolve the issue, choose the recently created restore points and click on "Scan for affected programs".

4. Windows 10 will then scan all the files you have and click on Next.
5. To restore your system to an earlier state, click on the "Finish" option after selecting the desired restore point. This will initiate the system restoration process, which will recover your deleted game file.
6. Restart your computer after the restoration of your system.

Method 5: Use File History to Fin Deleted Games in Windows 11/10

To recover a deleted game using File History on Windows File Explorer, go back to a previous version of the application to recover the lost game. This involves using the File Explorer's built-in feature to restore the game to its previous state.

1. Press the Windows key and the E key at the same time to open File Explorer.
2. Then, open the folder than contained the game file.
3. Once you find the game folder, right-click from within it and choose Properties.
4. In the Window that follows, click on Previous Versions tab.

5. You will be able to see copies of the deleted game, then choose a recently removed file, press Apply and click on OK.
6. Once you are done, restart your computer to make the changes effective.

Related Articles

• How to Recover Deleted Videos on PC
• Recover Shift Deleted Files in Windows 10
• Recover Deleted Restore Points in Windows 10
• Recover Deleted Files from SD Card in Windows 10
• Unformat Hard Drive in Windows 10
• Recover Deleted Files from GoPro
• How to Recover XLS Files Free
• How to Recover Deleted Files from External Hard Drive