Windows 10 has been a divisive OS for gamers, and especially so when it gets down to the Windows App Store. There’s a whole bunch of meddling that Microsoft have restricted savvy gamers from in the settings, one of which is the ability to route all of a PCs power towards a single application. This has some slight ramifications on games and their performance. Which is why Microsoft is seeking to address it with a new Game Mode – which will be out for testing very soon.
Forming part of the new Creators Update coming to Windows 10 soon, Game Mode will essentially do what Windows 10 should be doing already as soon as a game is launched. To get the most out of your rig and boost framerate numbers, Game Mode will prioritise a single application and send more GPU and CPU resources to it while it’s in the foreground. That means less performance wasted on background applications and more for your demon slaying in DOOM, and serious drifts in Forza Horizon 3.
How this all works is still unclear, but Windows Insiders will be able to start testing the new feature as early as next week. You can do so by bringing up the Windows Game Bar while in a game (that’s Windows+G), and selecting settings. There you’ll be able to enable Game Mode, which won’t be done automatically for many titles before it’s officially out. Microsoft even says that some games will not work at all with the feature just yet, but that comes with the turf of testing.
By the time the update rolls out for everyone, Microsoft is hoping to have most games supported and the feature turning on automatically for them as soon as the game boots up. That’s still a while away though, with the Creators Update still only having a very vague “early 2017” release window. So by April at the latest. Until then, just remember to close Facebook on your PC before attempting any rigorous gaming.
Last Updated: January 26, 2017
Spathi
January 26, 2017 at 10:08
Well, it’s a start. Now give me the opportunity to stop automatic updates for all things Windows and switch off game DVR with one button and I’ll be a happy camper.
Frik van der Hewerskink
January 26, 2017 at 10:11
w w w.site2unblock.com/win-updates-disabler/
Spathi
January 26, 2017 at 10:12
Thank you!
Edit: I assume it works as intended? Will give it a go when playing certain online games.
Kromas Ryder
January 26, 2017 at 10:08
Just close Chrome …. then uninstall it and install something faster.
Also Pinapple on pizza!
Original Heretic
January 26, 2017 at 10:13
You just made me throw up in my mouth. When I swallowed it back down, it still tasted better than pineapple on pizza.
Ottokie
January 26, 2017 at 10:13
I noticed this the other day when hitting the Xbox icon on the Xbone controller. Brings up the game mode that you can record and take screenshots with. Pretty nifty
Kromas Ryder
January 26, 2017 at 10:16
You mean like that nifty F12 button on a PC?
Ottokie
January 26, 2017 at 10:16
I usually don’t give an F. but I will check tonight.
Admiral Chief
January 26, 2017 at 11:08
Filthy casual!
Ottokie
January 26, 2017 at 11:11
Because I use an Xbone controller on my PC? xD
Admiral Chief
January 26, 2017 at 11:47
YES!
xD
Guava_Eater
January 26, 2017 at 10:43
Doesn’t this statement contradict the Title? “How this all works is still unclear”
Aries
January 26, 2017 at 11:53
Dont trust them, they lying, it going to be pay to play
Pieter Kruger
January 26, 2017 at 12:50
“Here’s how Windows 10 Game Mode works” then “How this all works in still unclear…..”
eyesuc
January 26, 2017 at 13:17
Unleashing the clickbait, just like mybroadband 😀