Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming

Windows 11 bringing new gaming features to PC players next month

Otto Kratky
By

PC gaming is about to change in a big (and hopefully positive) way. With Windows 11 launching on October 5, PC gamers will have a suite of new gaming features that can potentially make their games look better and load faster.

Windows 11 | The Best Windows Ever for Gaming

The biggest change that a large number of PC gamers will likely notice after they upgrade to Windows 11 is in how the OS will handle HDR (High Dynamic Range). The set of techniques, which let a monitor display a wider range of brightness, is a bit of a pain to handle on Windows 10 PCs at the moment. After turning HDR on, users were able to enjoy HDR-compatible content. However, standard dynamic range content looks strange on Windows 10, almost like it has a bad filter over it. Windows 11 solves this issue with Auto HDR, which, as its name implies, automatically adds HDR to SDR content seamlessly.

Recommended Videos

Windows 11 also borrows one of the Xbox Series X’s prime features, Direct Storage. With this feature, PCs that have an NVMe SSD will be able to load games faster by loading data directly onto a system’s GPU rather than its CPU. While Direct Storage on PCs hasn’t been properly tested yet, Microsoft has claimed that it will reduce overall CPU usage and improve system performance. For those who aren’t upgrading, Direct Storage will also be available on Windows 10.

Related

Naturally, Microsoft is also including its premier game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, with Windows 11. While users will still have to pay for a Game Pass subscription, they should be able to access games with ease thanks to the Xbox App being built into Windows 11 itself.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Otto Kratky
Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
New Windows 11 update adds ChatGPT-powered Bing AI to the taskbar
Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 feature that makes the OS photos app compatible with Apple's iClould.

Microsoft has just unveiled the latest update to Windows 11 which has already started rolling out. There are plenty of changes on the horizon, including those involving the ChatGPT-based Bing AI search.

The new update lets Windows 11 users communicate with the AI-powered version of Bing right in their taskbar. The AI model itself also seems to have received an update that might make conversing with it less bizarre.

Read more
Microsoft pledges to bring Xbox PC games to Nvidia GeForce Now
geforce-now-og-no-text-1200x630

Microsoft has announced a 10-year partnership with Nvidia aimed at bringing Xbox PC games to its cloud gaming service competitor Nvidia GeForce Now as part of its ongoing efforts to win over companies skeptical of its potebtial Activision Blizzard acquisition.
This means that players can use Nvidia GeForce Now to play the Steam, Epic Games Store, or Windows versions of titles like Halo Infinite, Redfall, and eventually, Call of Duty through the cloud on GeForce Now. Third-party publishers with games on the Windows Store can also now grant streaming rights to Nvidia. This announcement came during a European Commission hearing where Microsoft tried to convince regulators that its impending acquisition should bne allowed.
Microsoft has been under a lot of regulatory scrutiny even since it announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard in January 2022. It's trying to win over industry peers with deals like this one with Nvidia. This week, the Communications Workers of America voiced its approval of the deal, and Microsoft has signed a binding agreement to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo platforms as well. Previously, Nvidia had raised concerns about Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, but the press release announcing this agreement states that the deal "resolves Nvidia's concerns," and that Nvidia now gives "full support for regulatory approval of the acquisition." 
Regulatory bodies in the U.S., U.K., and Europe are worried that Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard will hurt the game industry and sabotage Microsoft's competitors in both console and cloud gaming. Nvidia GeForce Now is seen as one of the biggest competitors to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's cloud service offerings, which makes it surprising that it reached an agreement with Nvidia. However, this deal also demonstrates how Microsoft is willing to make concessions so that its acquisition of Activision Blizzard is approved.

Read more
Windows 11 may soon replace all your annoying RGB apps
a PC case with RGB lighting inside.

Microsoft may be adding a new feature to Windows 11, and if you're a fan of making your PC all shiny and fancy with RGB accessories, you're going to like this one.

A leaked screenshot shows that Windows 11 might soon allow you to control all of your RGB lighting in one place instead of having to rely on using different apps for various components.

Read more