With the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft wanted video games to gain even more weight within its operating system. To do this, he implemented a series of characteristics thanks to which he can enjoy gaming more. In addition to the Game Mode, which automatically optimizes the operating system every time we run a video game, another novelty that we could see in this operating system was the game bar , an information panel that hides a multitude of secrets and features.
The game bar is an overlay screen that we can launch at any time while we are playing, thanks to which we can have all kinds of information about the PC’s hardware and access to social functions . It is also a bar from which we will be able to take screenshots and record our games without having to use other programs for this purpose.
What seems like a very basic and simple tool, actually hides a large number of unknown functions and features thanks to which we will be able to significantly improve our gaming experience. Let’s see which are the most important.
FPS counter and hardware monitor: the star feature of this Game Bar
Surely more than once we have wanted to see the FPS of our games and the state of the hardware while we played. In this way we can know if we are demanding too much from our hardware (for example, if we have low FPS) or if we can go a step further and increase the graphics by having available power.
The Windows 10 Game Bar allows us to enable an FPS counter that will allow us to control the performance of the games. In addition, this monitor will also allow us to know the status of the CPU, GPU and RAM while we play. A must-have performance monitor that we all need to activate.
Do you need to consult a guide? The Game Bar has a browser
The latest versions of Windows 10 introduced an extension store, like the Microsoft Store, in which developers could publish their own plugins to improve the gaming experience. Although this store was originally intended for hardware manufacturers, Microsoft was a bit permissive and allowed some trusted developers to publish their plugins. And one of the most interesting is the Game Bar web browser.
Thanks to this browser, if we are playing and we get stuck, we no longer have to exit the game to the desktop and open Chrome, but we can go to the Internet from this add-on simply by pressing Windows + G.
Control your peripherals thanks to the plugins in the game bar
Just as there were many developers who took advantage of the store that we talked about in the previous point to upload their own gadgets, hardware manufacturers soon released widgets to control their peripherals. If we have, for example, a Corsair mouse or keyboard, we will be able to download the corresponding complement from which to control different aspects of the peripheral without having to leave the game.
Do you listen to music while you play? You can control Spotify
Depending on the type of game we play, sometimes it is better to put music on rather than listen to the monotonous soundtrack. Microsoft knows this, and therefore allows us to control Spotify from the game bar , thanks to an official widget.
This plugin is simple, but thanks to it we will always be able to have the music controls at hand while we play. Another trick thanks to which we can improve the gaming experience.
