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Microsoft confirms Game Mode coming in Windows 10 Creators Update

Mark Coppock
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Windows 10 Creators Update
Aaron Cassara/Digital Trends
Windows 10 gaming was one of the areas of improvement that Microsoft highlighted at the Creators Update event in October. And if anyone was concerned that the company’s productivity focus meant that PC gaming would take a back seat, then Creators Update should have allayed some of those fears.

Microsoft didn’t go into that much detail at their event, but it was clear that Windows 10 gaming will be up for some meaningful improvements in the next update. Today, Microsoft passed along some additional details on just what those improvements will look like.

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The newest piece of actual news is confirmation of the Game Mode that’s coming in Creators Update. The new feature first showed up in some recent Windows Insider previews without any explanation of just what functionality it provides. Microsoft has now provided the anticipated description, and it’s just what one might expect — turn on Game Mode, and Windows 10 is optimized for better gaming performance. That’s not a great deal of detail, but at least the company confirmed Game Mode’s existence.

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Xbox One is also getting some improvements in Creators Update. The Xbox One Guide will now allow for easier completion of common tasks, with a single Xbox button press pulling up the enhanced version as an overlay on the left side of the display that’s accessible throughout the Xbox experience.

Multitasking is also improved; for example, the GameDVR can be started from the Guide. A new Achievement tracking overlay, Gamerscore Leaderboard, new Cortana design, and background music controls round out the Xbox One updates.

Windows 10 Creators Update Gaming Announcements

Microsoft also mentioned Beam again, the upcoming broadcasting feature that will work on both Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One. Without needing to install any extra software, anyone with an Xbox Live account will be able to stream games to Beam and the Xbox Live community simply by hitting an Xbox One button in the Guide or hitting Windows + G to open the Game bar.

Finally, the company highlighted a couple of games that will be supported in the new Arena tournaments feature on Xbox Live. Professional tournament organizers like ESL and Faceit will be participating, and World of Tanks and Killer Instinct will be the first two games supported for creating your own Arena tournaments.

Obviously, Creators Update will be a significant step forward for gaming on Windows 10, to go along with the new 3D and other functionality for creative professionals. With the update apparently scheduled for April 2017, we don’t have too much longer to wait before we will be able to get our hands on better PC gaming. If you’re a Windows Insider, you’ll likely see some of it even sooner.

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Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
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