Compared to previous versions, Windows 10 has a lot of improvements which are useful for gamers’ community. New features, suitable for a huge variety of entertainments, are especially beneficial for those who use both PC and Xbox. Let’s discover how the system is able to enhance your gaming experience.
Xbox integration and software improvements
The most important features of Windows 10 are related to cross-platform experience and advanced visuals and lists of recently updated offers. Numerous hardware configurations are a big deal for PC gamers, that’s why software solutions are crucial.
DirectX 12
DirectX is a collection of APIs that are dealing with graphics, video, and audio. Before it was updated to the latest version, gamers suffered from not having an access to games from older versions of Windows. DirectX 12 is generally aimed at providing a much richer visual experience by decreasing a CPU overhead.
DirectX 12 is also massively boosting power efficiency and frame rate (from 8.3 to 42.9 per second). To have a thrilling and smooth experience, make sure that you’re using the latest update of this API. It is integrated into all devices powered by Windows 10.
Xbox app
Microsoft is developing Windows versions along with Xbox. While some players would be delighted to see a single solution with mixed functions of both PC and console gaming, the world is not there yet. The operating system pushes the cross-device experience: you can install Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass products on Windows 10 via the Xbox app.
The application allows creating your own community with Clubs and finding like-minded gamers using Looking for Group feature. You can also test your skills or get help from a digital assistant.
The Xbox app is being constantly updated, meeting the needs of fans: for instance, the Avatar Editor feature was recently added to the functionality. The updated Xbox app has a desktop feature of Game DVR that enables saving clips of the last 30 seconds of gameplay.
But the most important changes made to the program are related to streaming, chatting, and settings management. Integrating these features into PC infrastructure is a major step forward for the community.
Key gaming features
As we can see, the latest version of DirectX is responsible for making playing process as immersive as it can get. There are also some specific gaming settings available in Windows 10 that contribute to the creation of the atmospheric and highly customizable experience:
- Game Bar (using the Game Bar feature, you can make screenshots, record videos, and stream your game)
- Configurable Game DVR (videos that you’ve made can be edited in the Game DVR section and then uploaded to Xbox Live)
- Xbox Networking tab (connects to Xbox Live)
- Broadcasting and streaming (Windows connects you to Mixer where you can create a channel and set webcam preferences)
- Game Mode (focuses your system resources on gaming)
- True Play (anti-cheating software natively built in the system)
To optimize your gaming experience, it’s advised to disable automatic update and restart and switch your power plan to high performance. If you’re experiencing full-screen problems, check some guidelines on how to manage it.
Game broadcasting
Windows 10 is a flexible system for gaming which allows for changing as much configuration as possible. It is also focused on providing more interaction inside the community – players can stream their PC adventures to Xbox friends, as well as they can stream Xbox One games to any PC.
Unfortunately, Windows 10 doesn’t support streaming to Twitch or Youtube Live that are currently much more popular among gamers. Streaming function is available only for Mixer which is a system built-in feature.
Game streaming is gaining more and more popularity and provokes a lot of cross-device solutions that allow enjoying favourite titles on any gadget without compromising the quality.
Mobile gaming
Windows 10 Mobile and Windows Phone were considered as affordable gadgets that could deal with graphically intense games. But the problem was that the number of available products was ridiculously small. It took some time for the company to admit that their mobile platforms were dead and stop investing in them.
Therefore, today Android and iOS apps are dominating the mobile gaming market. To expand their coverage, gaming brands attract attention to their products by providing extensive lists of recently updated offers for the users of specific devices like iPads, and Android tablets. Although companies do this for marketing purposes mostly, it is still a lure for avid gamers.
At the moment, however, Microsoft tries to make their mobile system recover, making general improvements and fixing some specific gaming tools like PSP emulator.
Future prospects and expected improvements
Some players claim that Windows has to develop a specialized version where recent games would appear right on the lock screen and Game Bar would include achievements, friends activity, and messages.
Some users indicate the issues of Windows Store that need to be improved – like forced Xbox Live integration, no refund policy, no support for multiple graphics cards, or lack of mod support. It seems that Microsoft is highly committed to PC gaming now, so we can expect further improvements.
The company will also work more on the mobile development and produce new ideas for making the gaming process more compact and flexible without losing in scale and quality smaller keyboards for PC users and cross-device programs like Rainway show the possible direction of growth.