What Windows 11 Means for PC Gaming

Windows 11 was unveiled during a virtual event on 24th June. With this new Windows experience some new features were teased which included integrated support for android applications that allows mobile applications to run on the new Windows 11 PCs. That sounds really interesting but let’s talk about what improvements are coming to PC gaming with the OS upgrade.

Auto HDR

The auto HDR feature allows games running on Windows 11 to be automatically upgraded to HDR with better lightning and dynamic colors. a side by side comparison of Skyrim in SDR and HDR version was showcased to demonstrate this feature.

This feature is already available on the Xbox console. Due to the positive feedback from the players Microsoft is finally bringing this to Windows 11.

DirectStorage

Windows 11 machines with an SSD of 1TB or higher would be able to make use of the DirectStorage feature. DirectStorage allows the game assets to bypass the CPU to drastically improve the loading times of video games.

This is another feature that’s available in Xbox Series X and S. PlayStation 5 also uses a similar function to reduce the load times on the console. With Windows 11, video games will be able to better utilize the PC hardware to deliver a better gaming experience.

Game Pass

Microsoft is dubbing Windows 11 as ‘The best Windows ever for gaming.’ As such, Xbox’s Game Pass is integrated into Windows 11.

Game Pass is essentially Netflix for video games. Subscribers are able to access over a 100 games with a monthly subscription of $14.99. Game Pass is one of the strongest features in Xbox and with Windows 11 integration it looks like more games that are available for Xbox on Day 1 will be available on PC as well.

Microsoft is looking to make PC gaming on Windows 11 a similar experience to Xbox. This could be a good thing for PC players as these features and optimizations will vastly improve the gaming experience on the PC, but we will only know for sure when Windows 11 comes out.

If you are using Windows 10, check if your system is compatible with Windows 11 from here.