Microsoft has announced a new preview update for the Xbox app on Windows 11 today that introduces support for downloading Xbox PC games on Arm-based Windows 11 devices such as those powered by the Snapdragon X system on a chip (SoC). Up until now, the Xbox app on Arm-powered PCs has only been able to stream games, but it’s now gaining the ability to download and run them locally.
While users on Arm-based devices have always been able to download games from third-party storefronts like Steam and Origin, the Xbox app had removed the ability to do so, only offering the ability to stream games via Xbox Cloud Gaming to users. The Microsoft Store had a similar limitation, blocking the majority of games from being downloadable on Arm-based PCs.
This block was frustrating, as while a number of games do fail to run on Arm-based PCs, a lot of them don’t, and a lot of the games in the Microsoft Store should run on Windows on Arm PCs with little to no issues. It seems Microsoft is finally waking up to this fact, and letting users try to download and run them.
In addition to the added capability of downloading games locally, Microsoft has also announced that it’s working on a number of features and improvements for Windows 11 that are designed to improve the gaming experience on Arm-based PCs. “Windows and Xbox are working closely together to ensure compatibility across the catalog, and we’re developing new features that will enable more games to be played on Arm®-based Windows 11 PCs in the coming months.”
This is the first time that Microsoft has openly committed to improving the gaming situation on Windows on Arm, which has faced an uphill battle as most Windows games are not natively compiled for the architecture. While Microsoft did introduce an improved emulation layer for running x86 apps and games on Arm with the Windows 11 version 24H2 update, a number of games still don’t run well or at all.
Hopefully, Microsoft is teasing improvements that would allow more games to run under emulation. One reason why some games don’t run on Arm is because of anti-cheat services, which aren’t natively compiled for Arm and fail to operate under emulation. If Microsoft can improve the OS so that these anti-cheat services can run under emulation, that would allow a whole bunch of additional games to run on Arm.
When Qualcomm first announced its Snapdragon X SoC last year, it touted gaming as a significant area of improvement for the new generation of chips. For the first time in history, Arm-powered Windows PCs would be capable of running AAA titles, even under emulation thanks to Microsoft’s new emulation layer built alongside these new chips.
However, when the Snapdragon X platform finally launched, while a lot of these games did run, gamers were left disappointed with the performance and compatibility as while a lot of games did run, the emulation layer was still causing performance hiccups and graphical issues, most of which wouldn’t be a problem if the games were natively compiled for Arm.
But anti-cheat was the biggest issue facing Windows on Arm PCs and gaming. Games that rely on it wouldn’t even run a lot of the time, meaning many popular titles like Halo Infinite, Fortnite, and Leage of Legends were unplayable on Arm-based PCs, even if they ran well under emulation. So hopefully Microsoft has plans to address these key issues with the emulation layer going forward.
NVIDIA is rumored to be working on an Arm-based chip that could launch as soon as next year. When this happens, it’ll be only a matter of time before we see the first Arm-based Windows PCs powered by an NVIDIA chip, which will likely lend themselves to gaming rather well. So it’s vital that Microsoft improves these aspects of gaming on Windows on Arm before that happens.
In recent months, Microsoft has announced big changes to Windows 11 designed to improve the platform for gaming as a whole. It has committed to building out a dedicated UI and experience for handheld gaming PCs that will make them easier to use when powered by Windows 11, including for the the recently announced Xbox ROG Ally.
We’re yet to see any Arm-powered handheld gaming PCs running Windows 11, but Qualcomm just recently announced the Snapdragon G, an SoC designed specifically for handheld PCs, and it’s likely NVIDIA will want to get it on the fun too, so it’s likely only a matter of time.
In the meantime, what are your thoughts on Microsoft’s recent investments in improving gaming on Windows 11? Let us know in the comments.
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