Microsoft Will Soon Let You Use Any Windows 11 PC As an Xbox.
Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox isn’t just an Xbox. Or at least, it’s not just an Xbox: while the purported console will undoubtedly play Xbox games, it will reportedly also run PC games, codenamed ” Project Helix .” This is huge news for gamers, who typically have to choose between buying a console for convenience or a PC for potential.
Xbox Mode allows you to play PC games using a controller.
But while Project Helix is still a long way off (we won’t see it until 2027), Microsoft is already hard at work unifying its two major gaming platforms. As PCMag reports , Microsoft is giving PC gamers access to the Xbox Full Screen Experience, renaming it “Xbox mode.” Starting next month, every Windows 11 PC will be able to use Xbox mode—including laptops, desktops, and tablets. This means that at some point in April, your PC will become an Xbox of sorts. And next year, it will be the other way around. (Well, if you buy a new Xbox, that is.)
PC gamers are likely already quite comfortable playing their games on their existing systems, so the idea of an “Xbox mode” might seem a bit odd. However, the idea is to make it easier to access your game library using a controller. In this sense, it’s more like a console experience, which could make accessing games on a PC connected to a TV a bit easier. In Xbox mode, you can simply control the interface with a controller, rather than fiddling with a mouse and keyboard while sitting on the couch.
This feature has been in testing since last year.
For some Windows 11 users, this won’t be a completely new feature. Microsoft has been testing Xbox Mode on PCs as part of the Windows Insider program since November. If you enroll your PC in the Insider program , you’ll be able to try out the features before Microsoft officially launches them—as long as you’re willing to accept the risks associated with bugs and instability.
In this regard, Xbox mode may still need some work. This was certainly the case on mobile devices. In her ROG Xbox Ally review, Michelle Erhardt noted that the full-screen Xbox mode was unfinished, unattractive, and overloaded with ads. While she believed this mode was supposed to be Microsoft’s answer to SteamOS, it ended up being “the worst thing about this portable console.” We’ll see next month if the situation improves on PC.