Xbox full display screen expertise is not only for handheld gaming PCs, however the characteristic is rolling out step by step and we’re not having a lot luck with workarounds

A few months in the past, I reported which you can set up the Xbox full display screen expertise (FSE) on different handhelds than simply the brand new Microsoft Xbox/Asus ROG ones. And now, Microsoft is opening up FSE for extra than simply handhelds, saying it is “now available in preview for more Windows 11 PC form factors, such as laptops, desktops, and tablets, tailored for the PC experience.”

Xbox FSE was, after all, initially designed for the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds, and our Dave thought of it a fairly large boon for the latter when he examined it. The seemingly Xbox Series X/S-inspired UI, at the least on the ROG Xbox Ally X, permits you to entry a bunch of various recreation platforms to launch video games, and it runs smoother and snappier than the common Windows setting.

As for how this translates to PC, according to Microsoft, if in case you have the replace, you possibly can allow it with Win + F11 after which hover over the Task View icon in your taskbar—or press Win + Tab to do the identical—and choose Xbox full display screen expertise to swap to it. In different phrases, it acts as one other digital desktop, which is the way it works on the ROG Xbox Ally X, if reminiscence of my transient hands-on expertise serves me properly.

To get the replace, you should be on the Windows Insider Preview Build 26220.7271. But even if in case you have the replace, this characteristic is a gradual rollout. There can be workarounds, after all, such because the one I attempted again in September utilizing ViVeTool to attempt to get it arrange on the Legion Go S.

That did not precisely go properly, because the controls had been screwed up, and our Dave informed me he had the identical problem when making an attempt to get it operating on a OneXPlayer pill and a laptop computer over the weekend, as he hasn’t been supplied the brand new characteristic but within the gradual roll-out.

It’s value noting that MSI claims its Claw gadgets formally help Xbox FSE, although, so Claw customers might need extra luck there.

I’m additionally unsure simply how useful Xbox FSE can be for non-handheld gadgets, even when I’m gaming with a controller, which is the use case Microsoft is selling right here:

“The Xbox full screen experience introduces a controller-navigable UI that brings an immersive, console-like experience to Windows 11 PC form factors. Designed for controller-first navigation, it provides a gaming-first, full-screen environment where players can easily browse and launch titles from across their game libraries, including most popular PC storefronts. A powerful Task Switcher enables quick movement between games and apps, delivering a seamless experience.”

I can see it being helpful for hooking up your laptop computer or PC to a TV for some sofa gaming, however most PC avid gamers will not be utilizing their gaming PCs and laptops on the sofa. And for when I’m simply sitting at my desk, I do not know whether or not I’d hassle booting into Xbox FSE, even when I’m gaming with a controller. I can simply lean ahead and use my mouse.

But one thing does not need to be good for completely everybody to be a helpful characteristic, and Xbox FSE does look like a pleasant step in the suitable course for Microsoft, in direction of what folks like about SteamOS. Let’s simply hope that the gradual roll-out picks up just a little extra steam.