Windows 11 is getting the Xbox HDR calibration app and better windowed gaming
Microsoft’s big upcoming feature list for Windows 11 includes some important optimizations and improvements behind the scenes for PC games. The software giant is planning to bring its Xbox HDR Game Calibration app to Windows 11, and make older games run with less input lag, Auto HDR, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) if they’re running windowed instead of fullscreen.
The upcoming Windows HDR Calibration app will allow PC gamers to improve color accuracy and consistency of an HDR display, just like on Xbox. It will include three test patterns to calibrate HDR efficiently, and Windows 11 testers will be able to access the app soon ahead of its general release.
Windows 11 shipped with the Auto HDR feature from the Xbox Series X / S consoles, and Microsoft is now making some optimizations for windowed games that will allow them to support Auto HDR and VRR. The optimizations can also “significantly improve latency” for older games running in windowed mode, according to Microsoft.
A new “Optimizations for windowed games” setting will appear in the graphics part of the Windows 11 Settings interface, and it will apply to older DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 games. While you’ve typically had to run games in fullscreen in the past to get all the latency and performance benefits, Microsoft has made changes to DirectX in both Windows 10 and now Windows 11 to boost games running in windowed mode.
“This new optimization specifically applies to Windowed and Borderless-Windowed games because when you’re running in Fullscreen, a similar optimization already exists, and this new setting brings a consistent experience no matter which mode you are running in,” explains Hannah Fisher, a program manager in the graphics and DirectX team at Microsoft.
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