Microsoft Will Start Bundling Drivers With Windows Store Games To Improve Performance
But since we here at HotHardware are gamers at heart, we payed particular attention to a WinHEC session relating to graphics and gaming that was held last week. Microsoft described how it is focusing on the following technologies with the Windows 10 Creators Update to improve PC gaming performance and the user experience for users:
- Windows Display Driver Module (WDDM) 2.2
- Wide Color Gamut (WCG) and High Dynamic Resolution (HDR) support
- Device Driver Interface (DDI) and API enhancements to support virtual reality, augmented reality and merged reality for the Windows Holographic platform
- Improved support for multi-GPU setups
- Built-in game broadcasting with low-latencies
But perhaps one the most beneficial changes for those that actually purchase games from the Windows Store is that Microsoft will now bundle in current display drivers with your purchase. We’d imagine gamers that actually purchase games from the Windows Store are looking for the most hassle-free experience and likely aren’t as well-vested in keeping drivers up-to-date as those that might go the Steam route.
So instead of having to search for drivers for your graphics card, the purchase of a game from the Windows Store would trigger Windows Update to download the latest graphics drivers to get you up and running. And you won’t end up downloading some buggy pre-release software as Microsoft has stipulated that these automatic downloads are stable and WHCK signed.
There’s one big downside to this approach, however, as the auto-install of these drivers will overwrite your currently installed drivers, which could be a big headache for some. Perhaps between now and the time that Microsoft officially releases the Windows 10 Creators Update, there will be more granular control over this auto-download. We could see the feature being opt-in by default, but Microsoft could easily provide an opt-out for gamers that actually know what they’re doing.
