Windows 11 is out, and PC players are wondering if it’s good for games. A new OS can bring cool new features (if your computer can run it), but it can also bring performance and compatibility issues. Previous Windows releases have wreaked havoc on gamers, so many are wondering if they should take the plunge and upgrade to Windows 11 or stick with Windows 10. We’ll examine on whether or not Windows 11 is good for gaming at launch and what features it brings.
Is Windows 11 good for gaming, or does it have compatibility and performance issues?
Unlike some previous Windows launches, Windows 11 is good for gaming. It doesn’t introduce any major changes to the file system or APIs, so any games that work on Windows 10 should work on the new version. In our short experience with Windows 11, both modern and retro games are just as compatible, and any mods or fixes that worked on the previous version of the OS will work on the new one as well.
There are some new gaming-specific features that either came with Windows 11 or are coming in future updates. These potentially make it an even better OS than Windows 10 for gaming. One of these, DirectStorage, allows high-performance NVMe SSDs to quickly load assets to a GPU without putting strain on the CPU. This is the PC adaptation of the Xbox Series X|S’s Velocity Architecture, and should help load times.
Auto HDR is also available in Windows 11 and converts any SDR game that uses DirectX 11 to HDR. This enhancement allows for a wider range of brightness and colors and should help give a little more punch to older games.
So, in our experience, Windows 11 is good for gaming. However, given its similarities to Windows 10, expect to face the same problems here as you did in the prior OS (including a few new bugs).
