Microsoft begins rolling out Xbox Mode for Windows 11 PCs

Microsoft has begun the rollout of Xbox mode to Windows 11, a feature designed to blur the lines between PC flexibility and console simplicity. Originally introduced and refined on Windows handheld devices under the title “Full Screen Experience”, this update is now expanding to the broader ecosystem of laptops, desktops, and tablets.

Xbox mode acts as a streamlined layer over Windows 11, offering a layout that will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has used an Xbox Series X|S. It serves as an aggregated library, pulling in titles not only from Xbox Game Pass but also from other PC storefronts, ensuring your entire collection is accessible from a single dashboard. Because it is built directly into Windows, players can switch between Xbox mode and the standard desktop whenever they need to handle non-gaming tasks.

The experience is focused on controller navigation, making it a perfect fit for couch gaming where a mouse and keyboard might be out of reach. By leveraging years of telemetry from Windows handhelds, Microsoft has tuned the interface to be responsive and clean, emphasising recently played titles and easy discovery within the Game Pass catalogue.

The rollout has already started in select markets and will gradually expand to more users over the coming weeks. To ensure you receive the feature as soon as it becomes available for your specific hardware, you should navigate to your Windows Update settings and toggle on the option to “Get the latest updates as soon as they are available”.

KitGuru says: With this new mode making the PC feel so much like a console, do you think this effectively eliminates the need for a standalone Xbox under the TV, or does the “plug-and-play” simplicity of dedicated hardware still have a place?

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