Microsoft Announces Windows 11 Gaming Features

In particular, two features coming to Windows 11 that are already available on the Xbox are Auto HDR and DirectStorage.

Both DirectStorage and Auto HDR have been available for the Xbox Series S/X since the next-gen consoles launched in November 2020.

With Auto HDR, Windows 11 PCs can take advantage of HDR-enabled hardware for the optimal viewing experience. Meanwhile, DirectStorage is another Xbox Series feature. It loads the assets of a game on the graphics card instead of the CPU to help improve performance and make games load faster.

Both should be a great addition for PC-exclusive gamers who don't want to or can't buy a console at the moment, but would like to experience certain console-exclusive features nonetheless.

Windows 11 will also have the Xbox app built-in. For those that don't know, the Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's gaming subscription service. On top of letting users download games from its extensive library, the Xbox Game Pass also lets gamers stream video games on mobile phones and other platforms via xCloud.

It'll be interesting to see if Windows 11 turns out to be as good as promised or if it is a huge flop. There is a running gag among Windows systems where Microsoft alternates good releases with bad releases. Although Microsoft might not have planned this, it is a known fact that this pattern has gone on for more than two decades. This is partly why some users are concerned about just how good Windows 11 will be once it launches.

Having said that, Windows 11 is landing six years after Windows 10 was released in 2015. This means that Microsoft has had the better part of the past decade to work on it.