It wasn’t long ago that Microsoft was wondering why it is they had an Xbox division in the first place. The Xbox One wasn’t a colossal failure by any means, but it was a console that failed to inspire. Years later, Microsoft’s tone has completely changed. Not only are they fully behind the Xbox, but they’ve made a massive push to include PC gaming on Windows.
With Windows 11 on the way, Microsoft is at the point where it’s going to begin hyping up and sharing with everyone why they should be switching over to the newest operating system as soon as possible. One part of that push is how Windows 11 is going to be an OS that is beneficial to gamers. Throwing support behind the Xbox is one thing, but it’s become clear that Microsoft as a whole is going to make gaming a huge part of its future – and Windows 11 is going to make it a centerpiece.
With DirectStorage, which will only be available with Windows 11, games can quickly load assets to the graphics card without bogging down the CPU. This means you’ll get to experience incredibly detailed game worlds rendered at lightning speeds, without long load times. “DirectStorage Optimized” Windows 11 PCs are configured with the hardware and drivers needed to enable this amazing experience.
To put the above quote in layman’s terms, if you have a gaming PC and you play on Windows 11 you’re going to have a smoother experience than you would on competing OSs. Of course, everyone that is involved in PC gaming has known that Windows is the place to be, but it’s been rare to see Microsoft as a company throw itself behind gaming. Giving their support to the Xbox is one thing, but Windows OS is what the entire company is built on. This is a sign of support that Microsoft has rarely shown to the gaming side of its’ company in the past.
All of this does line up with how Microsoft and Xbox have been approaching this console generation so far. They want people in the Microsoft ecosystem on Gamepass. We’ve seen this with their push into the cloud and we will continue to see it in the future. Microsoft, as a company, is all in on gaming and Windows 11 is going to be another example of that support.