Microsoft Reveals Windows 11 Performance and Gaming Enhancements
Later, through the development outlook for Windows 11 until 2026, major investment areas focus on core performance rather than grand visual reinventions across the system. As seen in this case, power management, the task scheduler, and graphics stack improvements are given consideration for the purpose of optimization on stability and gaming experience.
Concentrate on Core System Optimization
One of the priority areas for development would be quality control above background load on the system. Initial evidence from a pilot new Xbox Full Screen Experience mode shows about 9.3% reduction in RAM consumption as well as frame rate improvements up to 8.6% in selected games. The company now strives to optimize background activity, with the aim of minimizing the system impact while gaming.
This initiative is, however, part of a larger push which includes:
- Power management and the processor frequency profiles tuned.
- Improved unified memory behavior on Ryzen APUs.
- Reduced CPU overhead from the input of controllers, services for RGB, and background processes.
Expansion of Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD)
Advanced Shader Delivery, a system that pre-loads game shaders to considerably cut down the initial load times experienced in games and subsequently reduce stuttering, is expanding. First launched on portable devices like the ROG Xbox Ally, the technology reduces the first-run load time significantly more than 80% in Avowed and over 95% in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Microsoft is now working to implement support for ASD to more hardware and third-party storefronts.
Auto Super Resolution (Auto SR) for All DirectX Games
Microsoft confirmed that the forthcoming Auto Super Resolution (Auto SR), an AI upscaling feature at the operating system level, would be opened to all users. This is designed to provide a method for improving the sharpness of images and achieving smoother frame rates while playing DirectX games without needing to be implemented by developers. Public preview of Auto SR will occur very early in 2026 for the ROG Xbox Ally X.
Major Steps Forward in Gaming on Windows on Arm
In 2025, Microsoft undertook major underpinning work for gaming on devices based on Arm:
- Local Game Installations: Supported titles including many Xbox Game Pass games can also be downloaded and played with the Xbox PC app directly on Arm devices.
- Extended Emulator Compatibility: The Prism emulator has now been enabled for AVX and AVX2 extensions, broadening compatibility and efficiency for many modern games.
- Full Native Support: Major anti-cheat systems of Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye, Denuvo, and XIGNCODE3 are now natively supported in Windows on Arm, thus making competitive gameplay with Fortnite possible.
DirectX and Audio Enhancements
It continues to evolve: DirectX Raytracing 1.2 (DXR 1.2) can now provide performance improvements of up to 2.3x in certain raytraced cases, depending on the hardware supported. Microsoft previews Neural Rendering capability, which integrates ML models directly with the rendering pipeline. On the audio front, they've improved Bluetooth LE Audio, which can carry super wideband stereo for quality chat and game audio at the same time, low latency, and native support for hearing devices.
Future Developments
Closer in time, Xbox Full Screen Experience-"designed for portable devices"- announced previews across all Windows 11 form factors, including desktops and laptops. Microsoft will continue refining performance fundamentals for Windows 11 to strengthen its position as a leading platform for PC gaming.
Source: Information drawn from Microsoft's 2025-2026 development plans.
