Microsoft announced that Windows 11 will include Auto HDR built into its upcoming operating system.
Sarah Bond, head of game creator experience & ecosystem for Xbox, confirmed that Auto HDR will be a part of the new OS. When using a high dynamic range (HDR) monitor, Auto HDR improves the color range in a slew of DirectX 11 and newer games, even in games for which HDR settings were never implemented.
Auto HDR was previously introduced into Microsoft's ninth-generation gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X/S, which helped improve both the colors and luminance in many titles. Microsoft previously offered the console's Auto HDR feature to PC players in March as a preview feature.
Microsoft touts Windows 11 as the best operating system ever for gaming and is incorporating a lot of interesting features found on its ninth-gen console into the latest OS. This includes DirectStorage, which will require the latest NVMe drives, allowing Windows 11 to expedite the load times in games running on the operating system. The company also confirmed that game developers will need to enable DirectStorage to speed up the loading times in their titles.
The move comes as no surprise. Microsoft has made it clear it is all in on gaming in recent weeks. Alongside confirming that Xbox Game Pass is integrated into Windows 11, including xCloud integrated inside the built-in Xbox app, Microsoft is thinking outside the box on expanding the Xbox ecosystem outside of traditional hardware.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
