Microsoft Confirms Windows 10 Game Mode Performance Gains, Xbox One Beam Streaming How-To

Microsoft for the first time this week confirmed Game Mode, and announced that it will soon be available for Windows Insiders to try out. “Windows Insiders will start seeing some of the visual elements for Game Mode this week, with the feature being fully operational in builds shortly thereafter,” acknowledged Mike Ybarra, Head of Platform Engineering for Microsoft’s Xbox Division. “Our vision is for Game Mode to optimize your Windows 10 PC for increased performance in gaming.”

Microsoft is being mum on further details at this time, but the person that originally discovered Game Mode, Twitter user WalkingCat, says that the gamemode.dll uses resource allocation to prioritize CPU and GPU performance while gaming.

Microsoft also announced the build-out of Beam (a firm that it acquired in August 2016) game broadcasting into Insider Preview builds of the Windows 10 Creators Update. Gamers won’t need to install any additional software thanks to native support; all that you’ll need is an Xbox Live account to start steaming your Xbox One and Windows 10 gaming sessions to the rest of the Live community. 

Invoking Beam is dead simple. On a Windows 10 PC, Press the Windows key and G, which will pop up the Game bar. From there, click the Broadcast button to begin streaming to Xbox Live. On the Xbox One, streaming can be initiated by pressing a single button from within the Guide.

“Whether you play on Xbox One, a Windows 10 PC, your mobile phone, or anywhere you sign-in with Xbox Live, we’re going to make your gaming experiences easier, more social, and better with innovative hardware and software features throughout the year,” added Ybarra. “We’re focused on feedback from our fans and innovative, new ideas from our engineering teams that will enhance gaming on the Xbox One and will make Windows 10 the best operating system for PC gaming.”

The Windows 10 Creators Update is scheduled to arrive for the public during Spring 2017.