Microsoft and Asus have simply introduced two ROG Xbox Ally units that embrace a brand new full-screen Xbox expertise for handhelds. After promising to mix “the perfect of Xbox and Windows collectively” for handhelds earlier this yr, Microsoft is now revealing precisely how it’s overhauling the Xbox app, Game Bar, and Windows itself to higher compete with SteamOS.
Microsoft has wanted to answer SteamOS ever because the Steam Deck launched three years in the past, and it has steadily been tweaking its Xbox app and the Xbox Game Bar on Windows to make each extra handheld-friendly. But there was at all times an even bigger overhaul of Windows required, and we’re beginning to see components of that at this time.
“The actuality is that we’ve made great progress on this over the past couple of years, and that is actually the machine that galvanized these groups and bought all people marching and dealing in direction of a second that we’re simply actually excited to place into the palms of gamers,” says Roanne Sones, company vice chairman of gaming Devices and ecosystem at Xbox, in a briefing with The Verge.
Microsoft demonstrated this handheld-friendly mixture of Windows and Xbox to The Verge in a briefing earlier this week, however it was a digital demo so we haven’t been capable of attempt it absolutely but. It all begins by booting straight into a brand new Xbox full-screen expertise on these ROG Xbox Ally units that focuses on the Xbox app and Game Bar, alongside being a launcher for all of your PC video games — sure even Steam ones.
“We have been capable of take individuals who have been engaged on the Xbox OS for 20 years or extra and have them work straight on the Windows codebase and begin reimagining what that working system seems like for this way issue,” explains Jason Beaumont, vice chairman of experiences at Xbox. “These two issues mixed led us to construct a bunch of options.”
The Xbox full-screen expertise may be very a lot the compact mode of the Xbox app taking full management of the ROG Xbox Ally units, as a substitute of the acquainted Windows desktop and taskbar. “When the participant boots into the full-screen expertise there’s a entire bunch of Windows stuff that doesn’t get loaded,” says Beaumont. “We’re not loading the desktop wallpaper, the taskbar, or a bunch of processes which might be actually designed round productiveness situations for Windows.”
You can nonetheless exit this full-screen mode and launch the complete model of the Windows desktop, however by default it’s going to by hidden away. “We’ve decreased many notifications and pop-ups, and we are going to proceed to take heed to suggestions from gamers to make continued enhancements,” says Sones.
The Xbox app itself in full-screen mode seems similar to what exists on Windows proper now, besides the library is now stuffed with your whole PC video games from Steam and different shops, alongside ones from Xbox Play Anywhere and Game Pass. Where it actually will get attention-grabbing is the Game Bar.
“We’ve made plenty of enhancements to Game Bar over the past yr, and actually it was driving in direction of this machine,” says Brianna Potvin, principal software program engineering lead at Xbox. A brief press on the Xbox button on the Xbox Ally units brings up the Game Bar interface, and you need to use this to entry machine settings like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, Asus’ Command Center interface, and even Microsoft’s new Gaming Copilot. If you lengthy press on the Xbox button then you definately’ll even get a extra handheld-friendly job switcher, which helps you to alt+tab between apps and video games utilizing the controller.
I’ll want to do that new interface absolutely to actually get a really feel for the Windows modifications right here, however Microsoft is promising that this isn’t simply lipstick on prime of Windows. “This isn’t surface-level modifications, we’ve made important enhancements,” says Potvin. “Some of our early testing with the elements we’ve turned off in Windows, we get about 2GB of reminiscence going again to the video games whereas operating within the full-screen expertise.”
That’s a great step to enhance the efficiency of Windows on handhelds, however one of many large items of suggestions across the handheld expertise is the sleep state of affairs the place Windows-powered units usually draw far an excessive amount of battery life after they’re idle.
“If you’re booting your machine into the full-screen expertise and also you’re placing it down and it’s going to sleep, it attracts one third of the idle energy draw than if it was booting the identical machine into the [Windows] desktop expertise,” claims Potvin. Microsoft remains to be centered on battery life and energy effectivity for this full-screen mode, so we’d even see additional enhancements earlier than units ship later this yr. Microsoft has additionally made enhancements to the Windows lockscreen, so now you can use a controller to log in utilizing a PIN code, or navigate round on this a part of Windows.
This up to date Xbox app will now work as a launcher for all of your PC video games, however you’ll nonetheless be capable of work together with Windows apps and people different launchers freely on this full-screen handheld expertise. Sones says Microsoft is “working intently with main storefronts to have them optimize their full display screen expertise,” to make it straightforward for everybody to play a full library of PC video games from Steam, Epic Games Store, and elsewhere.
“The aggregated gaming library inside Xbox on PC will likely be out there for all Windows 11 units,” says Sones, so that you’ll quickly be capable of see your whole Steam video games throughout the Xbox app on any PC.
Microsoft can be creating its personal model of Valve’s Steam Deck verified program, permitting you to see what video games are optimized for handhelds just like the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. You’ll additionally be capable of entry your full Xbox console library on handhelds due to both Xbox Cloud Gaming or Remote Play from an Xbox console, however most console video games gained’t play natively except there’s a PC model or they’re a part of Xbox Play Anywhere.
The finest a part of all these Windows modifications is that you just gained’t essentially want a brand new machine to profit from them. “The Xbox full-screen expertise will first come to the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X, and our subsequent focus will likely be updating the in-market ROG Ally and the ROG Ally X,” says Sones. “Similar full-screen Xbox experiences will likely be rolling out to different Windows handhelds, beginning subsequent yr.”
Valve can be supporting SteamOS on the ROG Ally, so we must always be capable of examine Valve and Microsoft’s handheld working techniques on the identical {hardware} quickly. We don’t but know if Microsoft has completed sufficient to cease different PC makers from being tempted over to SteamOS like Lenovo has, however Microsoft’s efforts are actually establishing a battle between Windows and Linux for the way forward for handheld gaming PCs.
