If you game on PC, then you’ve likely used the Xbox App at some point. Well, today, the Xbox App on Windows was upgraded with several new features. The headlining feature, which will be pretty important to most Game Pass users (we think), is that it now has a “Game Performance Fit Indicator.” Keep reading to find out more on the new Xbox App for PC updates, including how you can better organize your library.
Xbox App now displays game performance from similar systems
I’m not sure about you, but something that I hated doing before upgrading to a new computer is to download a game, try to run it, and then be sorely disappointed that it just wouldn’t perform well on my hardware. Sure, I could generally turn settings way down and lower the resolution, but who likes playing like that?
To remedy this, Microsoft has now built an indicator into the Xbox App on PC that will compare your system to other similarly-speced desktops and give you a glimpse as to how a certain game might run. Clicking the details of. a game will give you additional information on this, and say something like “Plays well on similar PCs” to give you an indication the game should be fairly enjoyable on your specs.
Microsoft does say that they’re comparing the performance with other actual desktops, meaning if it’s a fairly new release, then there might not be a whole lot of information to show. But, as they continue to learn more about a game’s performance, they’ll update the Xbox app accordingly so you can know what to expect.
In addition to this, the team at Microsoft is also updating the way you navigate and use the app itself. This is said to make it easier to find more games and navigate everything. The navigation is now handled on the sidebar and game installations are “easily trackable” with a new queue area that shows up in the bottom left of the app, firing off a notification when the install finishes.
Both EA Play and Ubisoft Connect titles are also now included in the search results, should you have either subscription (or Game Pass). Plus, there’s a new section called “Game to play together” that will help you discover great titles to enjoy with friends. And, additional collections, including “Side Scrollers,” “Point and click,” and others have been added to further help you find new hits to enjoy.
All of this is available to all users of the Xbox App on PC, whether you subscribe to Game Pass or not. And, if you don’t, then you probably should, because it continues to be the best value in gaming.
9to5Toys’ Take
I love that Microsoft is innovating in the Xbox App. While I still prefer Steam as my game launcher, the Xbox App is starting to look better and better. I honestly wish, at this point, Steam would implement some type of feature that would tell me how a game runs on similar systems, given they have the Steam Hardware Survey that collects system data. Until then, I’m glad at least someone is giving a glimpse as to how I can expect a game to perform before playing.
I’m also very happy with the new discoverability area of the Xbox App. Discovering new games is always something I struggle with, and with Game Pass, it can be even harder to find a title to play as there’s so many to choose from. So, with these changes, hopefully it’ll be easier than ever before to pick out a new title to play once you finish going through Skyrim or Fallout 4 for the 85th time.
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