Windows 11 Xbox mode reportedly uses less RAM vs stock Windows 11 but it doesn't result in more gaming performance
Pressured by the growing popularity of SteamOS and increasing fan outcry over Windows 11’s bloatware problem, Microsoft officially began rolling out “Xbox mode” for Windows 11 at the end of April. Xbox mode logs users into a controller-friendly UI that makes it easy for gamers to jump straight into their games. On top of this, Xbox mode aims to deliver better gaming performance by only running critical Windows processes and unloading things like the Windows Desktop to free up resources.
Linus Tech Tips has tested the Windows 11 Xbox mode to see how big or little of a performance gain you can expect from enabling the Xbox Mode. The answer? Xbox mode appears to make no difference at all while gaming. Across a variety of games tested at 1080p and 1440p, gaming on Windows 11 with and without Xbox mode yielded practically the same results.
For instance, LTT ran Forza Horizon 5 on a PC in and outside of Xbox mode. In both cases, the results were 1% Lows of 108/109 FPS and an average FPS of 123. LTT saw the same pattern in games like Cyberpunk 2077, F1 24, and Doom: The Dark Ages.
This is disappointing to see, as Xbox mode does reportedly use less RAM than the standard Windows 11 UI. For instance, LTT measured that Windows 11 used only 4,493 MB of RAM in Xbox mode and 5,101 MB running the Xbox App outside of Xbox mode. So, we can conjecture that either Xbox mode frees up negligible resources for them to make a difference, or the results are highly dependent on the game you are running.
Whatever the case may be, it can be argued that the mere existence of Xbox mode is a good thing for Windows gamers. It shows that Microsoft is taking the threat of Linux gaming and SteamOS seriously. Fingers crossed that Microsoft keeps on working on the feature and does not abandon it halfway. But it is Microsoft we are talking about. So, we never know what they are going to do next.
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Linus Tech Tips on YouTube, Teaser image source: Amanz on Unsplash
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