Microsoft’s console-first pivot for small screens lands in a surprisingly usable form, and testing Windows 11’s new Handheld Gaming Mode on an OG ROG Ally shows both what’s changed and what still needs work for real-world handheld PC owners.
Background / Overview
Windows 11’s new Handheld Gaming...
anticheat
asus rog ally
battery life
battery life handheld
console like ux
console-style launcher
controller ux
controller-first ux
desktop switching friction
drm
game bar
handheld compatibility program
handheld gaming
handheld gaming mode
handheld mode
idle power reduction
memory optimization
memory savings
oem tuning
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pc portability
performance gains
restart tax
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startup apps
task view
unified library
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windows 11 handheld gaming mode
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Microsoft’s Xbox PC app has quietly shed the role of a one‑trick Game Pass storefront and evolved into a genuine, controller‑friendly hub that now aggregates your installed Windows games across multiple launchers — Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Battle.net and Microsoft’s own libraries — and...
aggregated library
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battle.net
cloud continuity
controller friendly
cross device play
drm
epic games store
gog galaxy
handheld gaming
launcher orchestration
microsoft store
multi-store
my apps
privacy telemetry
steam
windows 11
xbox pc app
Microsoft’s Xbox app on Windows 11 has quietly evolved from a Game Pass storefront into a genuine, controller-friendly gaming hub capable of listing and launching installed titles from Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net and more — and the company is now rolling key pieces of that work out to wider...
aggregated gaming library
aggregated library
anticheatanti-cheat
battle.net
cloud continuity
cloud gaming
cloud play history
cloud streaming
console-like ux
controller friendly
controller ux
cross-device gaming
cross-device play
cross-device play history
drm
drm anti-cheat
epic games
epic games store
game launcher
game pass
game pass pc
gog
gog galaxy
handheld gaming
home ui
insider program
insiders
insiders preview
interoperability
jump back in
launcher
launcher consolidation
launcher fragmentation
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multi-store launchers
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my library
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pc gaming preview
play history
playnite
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storefront aggregation
storefront integration
telemetry privacy
third-party stores
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windows 11 gaming
windows gaming
windows handhelds
xbox pc app
Microsoft has quietly reworked the Xbox app on Windows 11 into a genuine one‑stop hub for PC gaming, and the implications reach well beyond a refreshed launcher: the app now aggregates installed titles from multiple storefronts, lets you launch non‑Microsoft games without opening third‑party...
aggregated library
anticheat
arm prism
battle.net
cloud play
controller first
cross-store gaming
drm
epic games
game pass
gog
handheld gaming
insider program
multi-store launchers
my apps
pc gaming hub
steam
windows 11 gaming
xbox pc app
Rockstar’s long-awaited PC debut of the original Red Dead Redemption has given many Windows players a reason to celebrate — but a persistent stream of “unable to launch” and crash reports has left a sizable portion of users stranded at the launcher. Community troubleshooting lists (including a...
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disable integrated gpu
epic games
gpu drivers
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pc launch issues
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red dead redemption
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verify integrity
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Microsoft’s Xbox app on Windows 11 has quietly started to act less like a storefront front end and more like a full-fledged PC gaming hub, now testing a “My apps” tab that will surface, download, and launch third‑party apps and rival storefronts from within the Xbox UI itself. (theverge.com)...
anticheat
app installer
battle.net
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controller first
gog galaxy
handheld gaming
insider preview
my apps
pc gaming
privacy
security
steam
storefront aggregation
supply chain
third party stores
unified library
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xbox app
xbox insider hub
Microsoft’s Windows ecosystem kept up a steady drumbeat of wins and weirdness this week: a puzzling Game Bar regression that appears to blunt performance on some AMD Ryzen X3D rigs, fresh Windows 11 preview builds pushing more Control Panel settings into Settings, a major Copilot/AI push that...
ai features
amd ryzen x3d
anticheat
bing image creator
browser patches
control panel to settings
copilot
easy anticheat
edge browser
firefox
game bar
gaming performance
gpt-5
gpu scheduling
insider builds
security updates
update testing
webui 2.0
windows 10 end of life
windows 11