Remember that “Game Mode” feature that Twitter user WalkingCat found in Windows 10 build 14997? When we first heard about it, we were left wondering exactly what it did. Windows Central got to speak with Kevin Gammill from Microsoft’s Xbox team, and the short version is that Game Mode is an OS feature that should slightly improve performance consistency in both UWP and Win32 games when it’s activated.
Image: Windows Central
Primarily, Game Mode is intended to make game performance more consistent. By preventing system tasks and background tasks from stealing resources away from foreground games, gamers can avoid the hitches and stutters that come with multi-tasking while gaming. Microsoft says that players should see fewer dropped frames as a result of limiting CPU thread contention between games and system processes. The company notes that the ideas behind Game Mode are borrowed directly from the Xbox One.
Game Mode is controlled via the Xbox Game Bar.
