Skip to main content

Xbox performance indicator tells you if your PC is good enough to run games

Worried about how your favorite Xbox game would fare on your PC? Microsoft has put your mind at ease by rolling out a new game performance indicator on the Xbox app on Windows.

Dubbed the Game Performance Fit Indicator, the new feature was released in the latest update on Thursday, giving you an idea of how certain Xbox games perform on your computer compared to other ones with similar specs before you download them. For example, if you want to play Sea of Thieves but want to know if it’s suitable for your computer, you’ll see a label that reads “Plays well on similar PCs,” which predicts that the game will run perfectly on your computer as well. Other games may give you a different label that indicates otherwise because some features call for different spec requirements.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“If your PC isn’t up to the task of running a graphically demanding game, you’ll be able to view the game’s system requirements to get more details on what you need to run the game,” Tila Nguyen, senior product manager lead on Xbox experiences, explained.

Nguyen was quick to add that not every game will run against a performance check, especially games that have recently been added to Xbox Game Pass, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Assassin’s Creed Origins. As such, the Game Performance Fit Indicator won’t show up on every game on the PC Xbox App until Microsoft has more information to recommend what games go well with your PC and which ones require more specs, or even a PC upgrade, to play them well.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

Until that update comes, you may have to run games without a performance indicator against other performance checking and system recommendation sites, such as Can You Run It.

Editors' Recommendations

Cristina Alexander
Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…
If you love Amazon’s Fallout, play the series’ best games on Game Pass and PS Plus next
Two characters in power armor in Fallout 4.

The Fallout TV series just released on Amazon Prime, and it's one of the best video game adaptations out there. It perfectly captures the tense, humorous feel of the postapocalyptic video game series while telling a new story with original characters. If you've just watched the show, you're probably itching to play a Fallout title again or check out one of the games the series is based on for the first time. Thankfully, if you're subscribed to one of the major video game subscription services, that's very easy to do.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 are all on at least one gaming subscription service. While PC and Xbox players will be looking to Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation owners can get in on the fun with PS Plus Extra's game catalog. We've combed through what's available on PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass, and PS Plus Extra, and there's no shortage of options. Here are the best starting points on each service.
PC Game Pass

Read more
The best games on Xbox Game Pass for right now (April 2024)

As the Xbox Game Pass program has grown, so has our list of the best games on Xbox Game Pass. After the launch of the Xbox Series X, Microsoft has doubled down on Game Pass, now offering well over 350 games on the console alone. To help you through option paralysis, we rounded up the top games on Microsoft's subscription platform.

Many titles are available on Xbox and PC, and some even have cross-save support. Most of the games are available for streaming on mobile, too, as long as you have Game Pass Ultimate. The Game Pass library is also constantly changing, so check out our monthly guide for addition and removal announcements.

Read more
Xbox Game Pass loses some horror greats, but gains a kid-friendly racing game
A custom car built drives around Lego 2K Drive.

We've learned what games will come to Xbox Game Pass over the first half of this April, and leading the batch is Lego 2K Drive, a Lego racing game that's a solid alternative to the Forza Horizon games that are also available on Microsoft's subscription service.

Lego 2K Drive was released in May 2023 and is an enjoyable racing game where players can build their own Lego vehicles and race throughout several open worlds. It found the middle ground between the likes of Mario Kart and Forza Horizon and thrives in that space, even if the microtransactions can be a little aggressive for a game aimed at children. Playground Games has not yet confirmed if another Forza Horizon game is in the works at this time, so Xbox fans can play this game to fill that void until a new one is announced.

Read more