Microsoft To Turn Every Windows 11 PC Into A Console With Xbox Mode Next Month

Microsoft has had a big presence at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference, providing fans with a glimpse of the future of Xbox with a sneak peek at a potential Xbox Development Kit alongside detailing its partnership with AMD. However, the company hasn’t forgotten about the legion of gamers that call a Windows PC home, who will soon be seeing a new interface that should make the OS an even better gaming platform.

The Xbox full screen experience, which initially became available as an exclusive feature for the ASUS Xbox ROG Ally handhelds, will now begin rolling out to Windows PCs everywhere and be known as Xbox Mode. It will make it “easier for players to jump into a streamlined, full‑screen, dedicated gaming experience whenever they want to lean back and play.”


Additionally, the company says it has worked hard to ensure an optimal experience when using a controller on a Windows 11 device. This is welcomed news, because while the keyboard and mouse combo is a great way to play a lot of games, sometimes a controller is the best option. Here’s hoping that this controller support is equally as good with popular third-party options such as the PlayStation DualSense and 8BitDo controllers.

There are improvements happening under the hood, too. Microsoft is implementing new API-level support for Advanced Shader Delivery in its DirectX Agility SDK, enabling developers to “deterministically collect and package shaders as part of their process.” This new method should lead to less shader stutter and smoother gaming. Moreover, DirectX is going to be upgraded with machine learning capabilities, making it possible for developers to “bring neural techniques into their graphics pipelines.”

While PC gamers won’t be immediately seeing the fruits of the improvements being made to developer tooling, the new Xbox Mode will start to roll out in April.