Your Arm-Based Windows Laptop Is Now An Xbox With Microsoft's PC App Launch

Microsoft is doubling down in a big way with Windows on Arm devices. Now, all Windows 11 machines running running Arm-based silicon, like Qualcomm's forthcoming Snapdragon X2 Elite platform, have support for Xbox Game Pass, with "more than 85%" of the Game Pass catalog claimed to run well. Anti-cheat support x86/x64 emulation is also well underway, with Epic Anti-Cheat compatibility being billed as a key feature for playing games like Fortnite and Gears of War: Reloaded without issue. Considering the usually thin and light and cooler nature of Snapdragon-based laptops, Microsoft's infamous declaration of "every screen an Xbox" now being apt for all Windows 11 PCs is a very good thing.

It's hard not to see this move as a straightforward win for Microsoft and the Xbox brand as whole. Cross-platform support for multiple CPU architectures and instruction sets is impressive indeed, arguably more-so from a technical perspective, versus just translating Windows x86 to Linux x86 a la Steam Deck/Valve with Proton. Both obviously have their place in the market, but with increasingly-powerful Arm-based PCs becoming more common, elevating game support to and past those levels is essential. It would be an especially big win for Microsoft if it manages to secure universal anti-cheat compatibility before Valve does with Steam Deck and Steam Machine.

Several other improvements are being made to the Windows and Xbox gaming experiences as well. Now, games will display a Game Save Sync Indicator for playing games across a desktop PC and a supported handheld—even Xbox consoles are included if the game is one of now 1000+ games supported by Xbox Play Anywhere (which includes Xbox Cloud Gaming). Microsoft has also improved widespread support for the Handheld Compatibility Program, providing an easy list of games that should run well on ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X and other handheld PCs.


Extended mouse and keyboard input, and an expanded "Retro Classics library" of retro Activision-published games, rounds out the wave of news from Microsoft's January Xbox Update. There are also certain Hisense and V homeOS-powered Smart TVs that have also been given Xbox Cloud Gaming (and Game Pass) support, further lowering the barrier to entry for gamers with Microsoft's massive multi-publisher catalog. It's a strong showing for Xbox as a cross-platform brand, and Xbox Developer Direct is also flexing an assortment of new games, further strengthening today's Xbox news. Now, all we're missing is an Xbox Magnus update...