Microsoft is making its Edge browser more gamer-friendly by including new Xbox and PC gaming performance capabilities. Aside from a new gaming-focused homepage and casual games integration, The Verge says that the web browser will also receive a Clarity Boost to better Xbox Cloud Gaming streams and an efficiency model to prevent Edge from using PC resources when playing a game.
The most intriguing update for PC gamers is the new efficiency model. Enabling this efficiency mode in Edge will help both Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, as it will prevent the browser from consuming resources when a game is opened. “You don’t need to shut the browser to play and reopen it when you’re done with this function,” Liat Ben-Zur, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s consumer services and software products, was cited as saying.
“As soon as you close the game, Microsoft Edge will exit Efficiency mode and get you right back to where you left off,” Ben-Zur added. Microsoft is also adding a Clarity Boost feature for Xbox Cloud Gaming. It is a spatial upscaling feature designed to make Xbox streamed games much clearer and sharper.
Edge now features a gaming homepage, which contains gaming news, live streams, Xbox content, and quick access to Xbox Cloud Gaming.