A new update for Windows 11 is set to optimise windowed gaming, making it easier to multitask while playing, without dropping frames per second.
At first, this will only come through the latest Windows Insider Program build, so you have to join up to test the beta version.
The setting is called Optimizations for Windowed Games, and it will boost your gaming experience in windowed mode by reducing input lag and improving the way a game’s frames are rendered.
This could change the game for gamers who like playing in windowed mode.
DirectX1 games already support this by default, but by adding it into Windows 11, Microsoft could improve games across the board.
With the majority of modern games played in full-screen mode, benefits include improving frame rates and allowing your computer to focus its hardware on the actual game, whereas switching to windowed mode previously saw a lower frame rate per second and a decline in overall performance.
While some games give the option of switching from full-screen to borderless or windowless modes, that will still lower graphics performance in some cases.
Then, features such as HDR don’t support windowed mode, and a bunch of games aren’t optimised to give their best outside full-screen mode, meaning they will likely run less smoothly, have lower frame rates, or get jammed by input lag.
If you’re just saying, “Well why don’t you just play in full-screen mode?” It’s not that obvious.
That, as the name suggests, takes up all your screen, so you need to tab out of a game to check other apps, rather than simply hitting your taskbar.
