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Microsoft's 'Xbox Mode' Is Coming To Every Windows 11 PC (theverge.com) 86

Posted by BeauHD from the ready-for-Project-Helix dept.
In April, Microsoft will be rolling out a full-screen "Xbox mode" to all Windows 11 PCs, including laptops, desktops, and tablets. The move follows last week's confirmation of its next-generation Xbox console, known internally as Project Helix, which will be capable of running both Xbox titles and PC games. The Verge reports: Technically, you've been able to try the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) in preview since November 2025, if you were part of both the Windows Insider and Xbox Insider Programs. But it needed work, as well as a better name. When Microsoft originally shipped it on the Asus-designed Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds, we were clear: it didn't meaningfully turn a PC experience into an easy-to-use Xbox one. But if Microsoft is putting its full weight behind PC as the future of Xbox gaming, perhaps that will change change.
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Microsoft's 'Xbox Mode' Is Coming To Every Windows 11 PC More

Microsoft's 'Xbox Mode' Is Coming To Every Windows 11 PC

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  • Necessary Questions (Score:5, Insightful)

    by El Fantasmo ( 1057616 ) on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @06:07PM (#66036238)

    Obligatory questions to Microsoft, in this order:

    How can I stop it from happening?
    How can I remove it?
    How can I disable it?
    How Can I turn it off ?

    • Re:Necessary Questions (Score:5, Funny)

      by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @06:09PM (#66036244)
      Microsoft's Answer: "You own nothing and will like it."

    • I'm not sure I can blame you for asking these questions, it is Microsoft, but I think you're overthinking it.

      This just sounds like Microsoft's version of Valve's "Big Picture Mode". For those unaware, it turns the normal PC UI into an UI that more mimics a console with a focus on controllers.

      • Re:Necessary Questions (Score:5, Interesting)

        by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @06:36PM (#66036276)

        Well if it is like every other MS feature I don't want: 1) it will turn itself on for no reason 2) it will share every detail with MS. 3) I can't get rid of it even though I have no use for it. 4) Even if I can find a way to remove it, the next patch will reinstall it.

        As a basis for comparison, Xbox for Gaming does all of that on Windows 10.

        • If you have to use W11, it's one more thing to add to your scrape script. This is a sorry last-ditch attempt to make Xbox relevant again. Easy scrape and joins the piles of crapware that doesn't belong in an operating system.

          And Linux distros could go on a diet, too. Hey Linus, it's getting FAT.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Sique ( 173459 )
            Linus is not responsible for distros. That's the responsibility of the respective distro maintainer.

          • Linux distros could go on a diet

            So next time search for a lightweight distribution and run that? This is a you problem, it doesn't just sound like one.

            • Like other seemingly simple solutions, this one is wrong.

              The major distros have become unbelievably bloated, with Ubuntu leading the pack. LinuxMint needs ozempic in the worst possible way.

              The kitchen-sink approach is just wrong and increases attack surface, while those having no choice but older hardware with fewer resources have to cringe.

              Although lightweight versions are possible, the sheer sprawl of inodes has become ridiculous. No OS should need a half-million files installed from core executables and

              • Like other seemingly simple solutions, this one is wrong.

                Why?

                The major distros have become unbelievably bloated

                Irrelevant

                The kitchen-sink approach is just wrong and increases attack surface

                Irrelevant

                Although lightweight versions are possible, the sheer sprawl of inodes has become ridiculous

                Irrelevant

                No OS should need a half-million files installed from core executables and libs and sheer goo.

                Stupid

          • And Linux distros could go on a diet, too. Hey Linus, it's getting FAT.

            1) Linus has nothing to do with distros. He is responsible for the kernel. 2) Linux is open source. If you think the kernel is too fat, you are free to modify it. People do that to make Linux work for older and less powered CPUs.

            • Bullshit.

              The kernel is built around features, resources, and libs that will touch it within the kernel. This 100% disciplines the "features" that distros shove in, often with seeming hydraulic pressure, into distributions.

              Yes, it's a "Swiss Army Knife" with incredible flexibility. And it is a blimp. Then there are untold lib bloats to feed edge case use of distributions. It's my contention that you could slice the entire beast in half and still have great functionality for the bell-curve use cases.

              I watch k

              • The kernel is built around features, resources, and libs that will touch it within the kernel. This 100% disciplines the "features" that distros shove in, often with seeming hydraulic pressure, into distributions.

                No. The kernel builds the foundations that programs can use. Most of the libraries are part of the GNU side which is came more from Richard Stallman many of which imitate utilities from Unix.

                This 100% disciplines the "features" that distros shove in, often with seeming hydraulic pressure, into distributions.

                If you are just going to keep denying reality that Linus has nothing to do with distros, you have a world of pain.

                Yes, it's a "Swiss Army Knife" with incredible flexibility. And it is a blimp. Then there are untold lib bloats to feed edge case use of distributions. It's my contention that you could slice the entire beast in half and still have great functionality for the bell-curve use cases.

                AGAIN. Linus is responsible for the kernel. Distros can choose what they want to install. That is not part of the kernel. Again, you can find lightweight distros if you want. Or very large distros.

                I watch kernel development. There is so much goo inside the kernel that it no longer floats, it sinks under its own weight, and drowns the OS with barnacles and lead.

                You seem t

                • I know who the maintainers are and what their responsibilities and trajectories are. While no one was looking (Linus), lots of diverse platforms became supported. Provisions were made for both very progressive (if often never ever ever used) modularity.

                  On the app side, an enormous number of apps found their way inside, often stuff that users (remember users?) didn't ask for but they got The Big Gulp anyway.

                  I indeed wrote operating systems before Linus Torvalds was born. Wrote in Byte about Linux long ago.

                  • I know who the maintainers are and what their responsibilities and trajectories are. While no one was looking (Linus), lots of diverse platforms became supported. Provisions were made for both very progressive (if often never ever ever used) modularity.

                    Bahahaha. While no one was looking, all of the sudden random platforms got supported? I'm pretty sure that is pure BS. The fact of the matter is Linux kernel stops supporting old platforms all the time like Itanium and utilities like ReiserFS. These EOL timelines are announced.

                    This leads to a contradiction: You asserted Linus did it. Now you are asserting things got done without Linus being involved. Which is it?

                    On the app side, an enormous number of apps found their way inside, often stuff that users (remember users?) didn't ask for but they got The Big Gulp anyway.

                    Again, Linus does not do apps. He maintains the kernel. If an app is built using the kernel, th

      • 1) Valve's version is only installed if you install Steam.
        2) Valve's version doesn't mandate it's use.
        3) Steam is an optional program installed as a third party component.

        None of that applies to the Microsoft version. In fact I'd wager that most of it will be the exact opposite: Mandatory, part of the OS, and non-removable without crippling something else. I also wouldn't be surprised if it "accidentally" conflicted with Steam's version at some point. (After all Microsoft making PCs == Xbox, means that
        • Why do you think that the Xbox optional features in Windows are mandatory? Is it just because they are present by default? I find that LibreOffice is present by default in most Linux distros, but that doesn't make it mandatory or stop me from removing it every time.

          Nor will anything stop you from removing the Xbox features.

          • The last time I tried the Uninstall button was greyed out in Add/Remove Programs. I take that means it is mandatory.
            • What? Oh, no, that just means you don't remove it that way. It's an appx package, better managed via powershell.

              i.e.:
              get-appxpackage -allusers *xboxapp* | remove-appxpackage

              And then there's the Xbox application, which you can uninstall with a right-click.

              • Via Powershell and admin privileges, you can wreck a Windows install by removing things. That does not take away from my point that Microsoft thinks Xbox Gaming is mandatory on all Windows installations so they remove the ability for consumers to remove it.
                • Mandatory means required. It is not. You can safely remove it. Instructions are easy to find. Simple ones.

                  It's installed by default. That's all there is to it.

                  • Mandatory means required. It is not. You can safely remove it. Instructions are easy to find. Simple ones.

                    Not to Microsoft. Also via Powershell I can remove all sorts of things from Windows that breaks it. Mandatory does not mean what you defined it to be.

      • Probably with other optimizations as well. Power states, background processing, etc.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      Obligatory questions to Microsoft, in this order:

      How can I stop it from happening?
      How can I remove it?
      How can I disable it?
      How Can I turn it off ?

      Answer: install Linux.

      Linux has become good enough that the average /.er should have no problems running a dual boot config on their gaming boxen without issues and most games will now run under Linux as well as they do under Windows. You can still dual boot for those few games that won't run under Linux (usually due to anti-cheat tools).

    • Oh don't be so dull. My employer would especially like us all playing xbox games on their carefully compliance-crafted laptops. I mean, why *wouldn't* you want this? /s

      Just how far do they have to go before some 'estate owners' decide enough is enough and ditch them completely? The average home user will probably live with it, but surely this has to be the exact opposite of what corporates want?

      • You'd think they just wouldn't preinstall on Enterprise versions but there's already some Xbox related shit on Win10 IoT Enterprise LTSC. Not just preinstalled but a service that runs by default. Not sure about 11 since despite the barrage of misleading headlines/articles, support for Win10 has not ended for this version and won't for 6 more years (even more if they offer an ESU program), so I won't switch, in part because 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC is already more bloated and still has all the garbage UI stuff

        • > You'd think...

          Yes, you would, as would I. Sadly, it seems *they* don't :-(

        • I don't see the problem. In an enterprise environment you're already managing the endpoints and have probably disabled the unneeded services through policy. That's if you haven't taken the next step of customizing the WIM to strip out what you don't want. Or just doing that with Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature or remove-provisionedappxpackage. Or DISM.

          • True, but because you've already got to take care of a mound of crap doesn't mean it's okay to add more to the pile. Everything you're describing still takes someone some time to setup and test (and deploy). Likely they'll spend that time all over again if there are some major updates too.

            Xbox on Enterprise has to be the least likely place anyone would want it. Why can't it be an install-it-if-you-want-it option, rather than forced on you and you having to find ways to remove it?

            • I don't know, maybe it's easier for MS? Maybe it's by request from admins that worry they don't look busy enough?

              It doesn't make that much sense to me either, I'm just not worried about it. It's a pretty trivial issue that ads a minute to the image customization process.
              Or maybe it's because of executives who want to play golf games on their laptop? I've granted that exemption (as if I had a choice).

      • Then corporate IT rolls their own windows images for deployment. What you describe hasn't been an issue since at least XP.
    • Don't be on windows 11 is the answer.

  • My conception of an ideal "Xbox Mode" is one that erases Windows from the disk. Since we know it isn't that, what even is it?

    Drilling through multiple levels of articles revealed a bunch of developer and ML stuff that is irrelevant to users, but also this:

    *Tweaks to DirectStorage involving compression of game assets
    *Tweaks to shader compilation (downloading pre-compiled shaders for specific supported devices)

    It sounds like a way to lock developers into the new "Xbox" ecosystem that they're creating. If they

    • I'm guessing they won't make it easy for Linux users to connect to "Xbox Live 365 Copilot" to download the shaders.

      They don't need to.
      Pre-cached shaders are a performance improvement. It means your machine doesn't need to worry about compiling them on the fly, which is CPU-intensive.
      Steam has been using downloaded cached shaders for the Steam Link since its inception, since its CPU is on the weak side, and really struggles in shader compilation.

      Importantly- the caching happens transparently.
      Your game says, "compile this shader, please". Instead of compiling it, it returns the pre-compiled version. Without the cachi

    • DirectStorage means bypassing the OS and having the GPU access the game's storage device on it's own (DMA like). Presumably those tweaks are about mandating what data formats their creation tools must support, so that GPUs have a standard list of compression algorithms to use / implement support for.

      Downloading pre-compiled shaders is something almost everyone does already. Even Valve does it for example. If for nothing more than to decrease loading times by removing the need for the end-user's device to
      • Spot on, but point of minor clarification on DirectStorage- it's more about bypassing the CPU, or any kind of load-store loop (as you mentioned, DMA-like, but not DMA-like: DMA-actually, over the PCIe bus.).
        Interaction with the OS is still needed to setup the memory mapping (GPUs won't have filesystem drivers or something like that, or the ability to give themselves access to arbitrary memory ranges on your storage device), but after the mapping is setup, the GPU just fetches it contiguously and decompress
    • I don't see that. As the article mentions, Steam also provides precompiled shaders (as do many games), and I'd really prefer they compile locally anyhow. Occasionally saving a minute or two doesn't sound like the sort of thing that locks users into an ecosystem, especially since it isn't unique.

      As another commenter posted, it's probably just a controller-centric full-screen UI like Steam's Big Picture, plus some optimizations.

  • So we went from "the next Xbox will be able to play PC games" to "the PC will soon be able to play Xbox games"?

  • Obligatory ...The Verge SUCKS (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    As above ^^^^^^
    The Verge SUCKS

  • Cool but (Score:3)

    by jrnvk ( 4197967 ) on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @06:53PM (#66036308)

    You just know a Patch Tuesday in the near future is going to turn this on by accidentâ¦

  • Isn't that just pressing the F11 key?

  • Everyone is asking for this! (Score:3)

    by sdinfoserv ( 1793266 ) on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @07:19PM (#66036342)
    Yep, everyone of my 400 corporate users are screaming for this feature in Win 11 Enterprise.....
    so glad Micro$oft is listening to their userbase.

    • Sorry, Microslop knows better than the userbase. YOU WERE ALL FOOLS FOR NOT LOVING CORTANA! And the way people laugh at Bing's mighty capabilities just shows how wicked and degraded mankind has become.

    • Given how this would be managed by group policy on Windows 11 Enterprise I don't understand what you're saying. Are you saying your IT is incompetent? Or are you saying your IT department are entitled enough to think they are the only customers?

      In the meantime plenty of dorm rooms across the world had a PC sitting next to the TV where people where people actually wanted this feature because reaching for the keyboard and mouse from the couch sucked. Valve introduced a similar xbox mode feature and people pra

  • To Paraphase Perlman . . . (Score:3)

    by Kunedog ( 1033226 ) on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @07:55PM (#66036388)

    But if Microsoft is putting its full weight behind PC as the future of Xbox gaming, perhaps that will change change.

    Change . . . change never changes.

  • Sounds just like Steam big picture mode

  • EVERY Windows 11 computer? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Even without your consent?
    • What do you mean? Everyone I know gets a call from MS to ask if they want a particular new feature. Did you miss their phone call?

  • If it competes with Steam and all other established stores on the same device, it has already failed. Unless they're happy with that sweet sweet 2% market share. Next great idea?

  • if a competent PC can play any xbox game a modern xbox can, then this will be of great value to windows and xbox gamers alike. if it can only play modern xbox games then its novel at most.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      A PC cannot play Xbox console games natively. Try sticking an Xbox console disc in your PC's BD/DVD drive. You'll be disappointed.The Xbox ROG handheld can only play PC games not console games. Xbox console games can only be played via Cloud Streaming.

  • Making Windows 11 More Insecure (Score:3)

    by Canberra1 ( 3475749 ) on Thursday March 12, 2026 @05:01AM (#66036694)
    Every unnecessary line of code compromises security. In a professional environment like government, police, law courts, lawyers - should not be playing games. Now graphics drivers have a lot of privileged level 'glue' . We do not want ports or memory exposed to garbage collection browsing or salvaging. Size wise Windows 11 is obese, dripping with lines of code vulnerabilities. Corporate needs to remove LOC that serve no good purpose.
    • Yeah, that's why they remove the unneeded features. It's really, really, really easy.

      I don't understand why so many people are making this, quite frankly, silly point. I'm guessing y'all haven't worked in an enterprise IT department.

  • I know, I know, for Windows 11.

    Let's see the graphic designers get creative with this one.

    Or the AI, even.

  • Microsoft loves to tier their products and lock out functionality if you don't pay for it.

    Fine, but could they maybe lock out consumer functionality that doesn't belong in a workplace OS when they sell their 'Pro' or 'Business' editions? No? Sounds about right for Microsoft.

    That 'Tiny11' exists, works, boots faster, and uses a fraction of the resources should be a major embarrassment to Microsoft.

    • Why would they do that? A business, especially an enterprise, will just strip those extra features. I run Pro on my gaming desktop, so those features are relevant. I think my wife's laptop is running off an Enterprise license.

      When I was in an enterprise IT department, I would customize the installer images to remove extraneous features. Plus, group policy.

      • I've always preferred an "Add components you require" model to a "Remove components you don't require" model.

        Attacking organizational needs from the other direction means you can't overlook anything and leave potential security or performance holes in place. You may not notice an extra process sucking up resources, but you'll notice a missing process preventing functionality.

        • It may be preferable for you and for enterprises, but for MS it makes more sense to do it the way they do. Their audience includes home users and highly secure environments. The latter have hardening processes, the former just generate support calls if something is missing.

  • Interesting but pointless? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I don't think this will make the PC as easy to use as a console, and it won't be cheap enough to attract that crowd. PCs are expensive and other things can go wrong with them. The cheapest right now with the most games is probably a PS5 Slim Digital at around $400 and it can play games at 4k60 or 4k30 and is simple to use.

    They say the next Xbox will use this to play PC games too, and there will be no more native Xbox software for the next system going forward. I think MS is leaving their console audience be

  • Uh oh, Valve must be shitting their pants right now! Microsoft is coming for you!

  • just another thing to disable uninstall.
  • A vast majority of computers are used for business and productivity, where xbox is the wrong place to be, many cases even prohibited. MS has done this many times before and got backlash but they still haven't learned the lesson. One day the whole world will sue them because they keep forcing garbage into their customers' computers.

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