With the ROG Xbox Ally X and Xbox Meta Quest 3S on the horizon, Microsoft is going some way to upgrade its software on non-Xbox-made hardware. Perhaps the biggest and most useful push so far is the upcoming ability to play non-Xbox games straight from the Xbox app. Unlike the former hardware collaborations, this, I might actually use.
Announced via Xbox Wire, Xbox Insiders will be able to boot up games from “Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts” all directly from the Xbox app. Xbox Insiders get the ability to do so starting this week, though I haven’t yet got access.
This could be a software change to set the groundwork for the ROG Xbox Ally X, a Windows handheld gaming PC with some Xbox-branded flourishes. As well as having the Xbox buttons, it comes with software from Microsoft intended to make it all feel a bit more like a console. The Xbox Ally X is set to launch later this year.
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This new Xbox App change is rather intuitive in concept, though we will have to get hands-on to see for ourselves. Effectively, you should just be able to install a game and find it in your library.
Steam and the Epic Games Store aren’t cited by name in Xbox’s announcement, but it would be rather misleading to announce support for ‘other leading PC storefronts’ without including arguably the two most important.
(Image credit: Heroic)
Unfortunately, though, the Xbox App won’t let you install games from other storefronts; it effectively just cuts out the middleman that opening up launchers can be. Given that the Epic Games Store is very tough to navigate, awkward to update, and a pain to boot up, the idea of entirely working around it appeals to me.
This could be especially useful for handheld gaming PCs—devices that are ostensibly designed to be a tad more console-like than a full-blown desktop setup.
The Xbox app won’t replace the likes of Heroic, which can install and update straight from your Epic Games library, but it can replace day-to-day Epic use, should you regularly play the likes of Fortnite or Genshin Impact.
If you’re looking to test out the new library function for yourself, you will have to join the Xbox Insider program, sign up for the PC Gaming preview, and then wait until you get access. If you don’t fancy signing up to be an Insider, normal Xbox app users will likely get this update later this year.
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