Hot on the heels of its GDC panel divulging some of the first details on its next-generation console, Project Helix, Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox Full Screen Experience is set to launch on Windows 11 desktops in April.
In a blog post on Xbox Wire, Xbox’s Vice President of Next Generation, Jason Ronald, confirmed that the gaming-optimized mode for Windows 11 will start appearing for users in select regions starting this April. The visual overhaul, which makes navigating Windows easier with a controller and provides some performance improvements, is now simply called Xbox Mode, after launching as Xbox Full Screen Experience on the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X late last year.
Xbox Mode not only makes it easier to use Windows as just a gaming device, with better controller navigation and an interface for living room gaming, but also cuts down on unnecessary background tasks that take up valuable RAM and processing resources that could be put to better use when running a game. The interface also attempts to unify all your gaming libraries, pulling in titles you’ve purchased on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and more and giving you one place to launch them all from. It’s a similar approach to what Valve has done with SteamOS, albeit built using Windows instead of Linux.
This new Xbox Mode will also likely be a window into the interface Microsoft is designing for its upcoming console, Project Helix. As detailed at the same GDC panel, Project Helix is being designed to support both your existing and future console and PC libraries, as well as play games for other PC storefronts. Given how PC-like this console seems to be, it’s likely it will run a closer version to Windows as its operating system than ever before, if not entirely, meaning Xbox Mode will likely be used to experiment with new features ahead of its launch.
Project Helix is well into development, with developer kits expected to ship in 2027 to studios around the world. One analyst has stated that Microsoft latest hardware endeavour might be its most expensive yet, predict the console to launch at around $900 or more.