Microsoft’s Xbox Game Bar for Windows has been round since 2019, providing fast entry to settings, efficiency metrics, achievements, audio settings, display recording, and widgets, amongst different issues.
However like most Home windows options, the Xbox Sport Retailer is designed at the start for laptop computer and desktop computer systems, not for small-screen units like handhelds. Or at the very least that was true till this week, as a result of Microsoft has simply begun rolling out a preview of a new Compact Mode for the Xbox Sport Bar, which is optimized for handhelds and different computer systems with small screens.
Microsoft says Compact Mode presents a simplified view that matches higher on small screens and shows key info at a look on a Dwelling widget, together with video games which are at the moment operating or which you’ve lately plaid, in addition to entry to recreation launchers put in in your PC together with Xbox, Steam, Battle.web, EA Play, Riot Video games, and Ubisoft Join.
The corporate notes which you could additionally use the Dwelling widget to stop a recreation that’s at the moment operating, or use the Useful resource widget to seek out different functions which are utilizing up system sources and shut them to assist unencumber sources on your gaming session.
Every little thing is designed to be navigated utilizing recreation controllers, which is useful on handhelds that lack bodily keyboards. And Microsoft notes that on units that help button mapping, you may configure a button to behave as a WIN+G keyboard shortcut with a view to rapidly launch the Xbox Sport Bar from any display.
To this point the brand new Compact Mode is barely accessible to members of the Home windows Insider Preview program. Nevertheless it’s proof that Microsoft is beginning to get slightly extra severe about supporting the rising variety of Home windows-powered handheld gaming PCs.
We’ve seen a lot of handhelds released over the previous few years, and plenty of have processors, screens, and different options that ought to theoretically make them higher gaming machines than Valve’s Steam Deck. However customers constantly word that one of many issues that makes the Steam Deck among the best handhelds round is its Linux-based operating system that’s designed at the start for handheld gaming.
Home windows, by comparability, is a normal goal working system meant for laptops and desktops. Small-screen units are second-class residents, which may typically make it exhausting to launch video games, modify settings, or do different issues on keyboard-less Home windows PCs.
Whereas the brand new Xbox Sport Bar Compact Mode gained’t clear up all of these points, it’s a begin.
by way of The Verge
