- Microsoft has announced a host of new features rolling out for Windows 11
- That includes some useful abilities for gamers, led by Gaming Copilot
- However, the AI gaming assistant is still in beta, and feeling a bit wonky thus far
Windows 11 is getting a bunch of new stuff, and that includes some goodies for PC gamers.
Microsoft introduced these various changes which are now rolling out to Windows 11 in a lengthy blog post.
The mentioned features for gamers start with Gaming Copilot, which has arrived in the Game Bar for Windows 11 – though it’s still in beta right now (having emerged from testing by Windows Insiders, which began back in August).
This is designed to be an in-game helper that you can query using Voice Mode, so you don’t have to get distracted typing a question while you’re playing your latest favorite game.
Gaming Copilot will also provide recommendations for titles that you might want to play (speaking of which, check out our picks for the best PC games right now), and will field queries about your previous gaming history and achievements.
Microsoft has also brought in a Network Quality Indicator (NQI) tool for its cloud gaming service ,which aims to “help you monitor and troubleshoot common cloud gaming issues like audio and video disruptions”.
You can turn it on in a session via the Game Bar, where it’s an Xbox Cloud Gaming widget (in settings for those, you’ll see the option to ‘Enable Network Quality Indicator’). If you’re having a laggy experience, this should hopefully help you to see what the issue is (high ping or packet loss, for instance, maybe both) – so you know that there is a problem with your internet connection, rather than just suspecting that.
The Xbox PC app will also deal with un-synced game saves across different devices in an improved manner, as Microsoft explains: “When there’s a save that has not been synced from a previous session, on the next device you play on you’ll see a progress bar, device name, timestamp and more details to help you understand what’s going on.”
Controller navigation in the Game Bar has been tweaked to make it smoother and to have “more intuitive movement”, as well.
Other changes now rolling out to Windows 11 include support for Wi-Fi 7, the latest wireless standard, and a Braille viewer for Narrator, Microsoft’s screen-reading tool. This can be hooked up to a Braille display to show the Braille equivalent of the text being read.
There are also new AI actions coming to File Explorer (shortcuts for AI-driven features in the likes of Windows 11’s Paint and Photos apps), and the widgets panel now has the discover feed curated by Copilot (so AI is choosing what you might see here). You’ll also get suggested widgets for the lock screen now.
Analysis: is Gaming Copilot really ready for the mainstream?
In case you missed it, Microsoft is currently going big on voice and AI in Windows 11, so seeing Gaming Copilot start to emerge with the release version of the OS is no surprise. As an AI-powered feature with voice input trimmings, it’s part of this overall drive Microsoft has underway to ‘make every Windows 11 PC an AI PC’ as revealed yesterday.
However, Gaming Copilot is still officially in beta, even though it’s being deployed to the finished version of Windows 11. So, while it has some nifty powers in theory – for example, recognizing a boss you’re fighting on-screen, and being able to deliver tips for that encounter – right now, you should temper your expectations.
It may be glitchy and get things wrong, and by all accounts, it’s pretty sluggish in this initial incarnation (based on the TechRadar team’s experience with it so far). And one of the big worries with Gaming Copilot on handheld PCs is that it’ll hamper performance – these portables don’t have much to spare in the way of resources (and there are concerns around the effects of running extra processes on battery life, too.
In fairness, though, I think the idea of Gaming Copilot has a lot of potential, and it could be a major plus point for Windows 11 gamers eventually. Although, as I’ve said in the past, there could be arguments about having effective help so easily on tap making for lazy gamers (who give up at the first sign of a hurdle and go running to Copilot for tips because it’s a snap to do so).
The other gaming-related changes for Windows 11 should be useful, although having cloud gaming network-related issues confirmed is one thing – being able to do something about them is entirely another. Still, better to have this knowledge about your Xbox Cloud Gaming sessions than to be without it.