If you’re a PC gamer and not a Microsoft Windows Insider, you may want to sign up, as the latest Windows Insider Preview build is just for you. Microsoft has at last unleashed Windows Insider Preview Build 15019 – for members in its Fast ring for updates – with the fabled Game Mode.
We just spoke with Microsoft regarding Game Mode for Windows 10 and learned a whole bunch about how the feature exactly improves game performance. But, that’s not the only major gaming upgrade to play with in Microsoft’s grand, endless public beta.
For starters, this is the build that will allow everyone to try out game streaming through Beam, the tool Microsoft teased at its October 2016 Creators Update event. Like most game-related features, it can be accessed by pressing the Windows and G keys at once (i.e. summoning the Game Bar) while in a game.
This update also introduces a whole new layer to the Settings menu in Windows 10 simply dubbed “Gaming”, identified by an Xbox logo. Here, you can tweak and toggle settings for the Game Bar, GameDVR, the new Game Mode as well as Beam. Microsoft also added 17 more games that support Game Bar in full-screen mode.
This is all well and good, but – like with any Fast ring build – this latest release is not without its issues, especially those regarding gaming. Good on Microsoft, then, for getting in front of the issue with the following statement by a Microsoft representative, though it’s awfully vague:
“We’re aware that the Windows Insider build going out this week has a few platform related bugs, unrelated to the new features included within the build, that are impacting the ability to play some popular games. We’re working to address these platform bugs so that Insiders will be able to take full advantage of the new gaming features coming in the Windows 10 Creators Update. For more information, please visit the Windows Experience blog.”
The best of the rest
Beyond gaming, Build 15019 grants the Edge browser the power to read e-books as well as any EPUB file opened within in 24 languages. Bonus: Edge now displays full-color (and larger) emoji.
This release also marks the debut of Microsoft’s more transparent, accessible and intuitive out-of-box experience, or OOBE for new or freshly wiped PCs. The firm even hired voice actors to narrate the PC setup process for the visually impaired.
Finally, Microsoft has renamed its warm-color lighting setting to “night light” and allowed for users to preview their new screen color tone before committing to it. Of course, we know half of you stopped reading this article at “the best of the rest,” so we’ll just stop talking now and let you get to gaming with Game Mode.
- Take it for a whirl on a Surface Book or Surface Pro 3 – they're compatible
