UWP Games to Get More Powerful with Fall Creators Update

Microsoft revealed today that UWP games will gain access to expanded system resources with the release of the Fall Creators Update. The net result? These Store-based game titles should be more full-featured and powerful on both Windows 10 and Xbox One.

“Since the advent of consoles, developers have asked for ways to create games for one platform that you could run anywhere,” Microsoft’s Clint Moon writes. “With the release of the Expanded Resources feature in the Fall Creators Update, we are taking the industry closer to that goal than it has ever been before.”

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What this means, practically speaking, is that developers will now have access to “6 exclusive cores, 5 GB of RAM and full access to the GPU.” Previously, these games were limited to 2-4 cores, 1 GB of RAM, and 45 percent of the GPU.

As Microsoft notes, the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) games model was originally designed to be lightweight because these titles share system resources with other apps on both Windows 10 and Xbox One. These restrictions (or capabilities, I guess) do not apply to full-fledged Xbox Live apps on either platform, of course.

But this does mean that even more casual games can be more elaborate and full-featured now.

“Coming this fall, UWP games published through the Windows Store to Xbox One consoles such as Fallout Shelter by Bethesda Softworks, games in the ID@Xbox program, or games in the Xbox Live Creators Program will be able to access the expanded resources,” Moon explains. “UWP game developers get both a performance boost and a much larger sandbox in which to dream, build, and play.”

 

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Conversation 25 comments

  • skane2600

    15 September, 2017 - 7:00 pm

    <p>Wouldn't this increase fragmentation between games than run on Windows 10 and XBOX One?</p>

    • NazmusLabs

      19 September, 2017 - 12:20 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#177065"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>No. Today games that run on XBox One are not UWP</p>

  • ZeroPageX

    15 September, 2017 - 10:50 pm

    <p>Wait. Microsoft limits the resources for UWP games unless they have a special agreement? They're expanding it, but still, they should stop limiting UWP apps! How much do they actually want developers to use UWP?</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    16 September, 2017 - 3:46 am

    <p>I think these limitations was put in place for phone devices, where they make sense. On the desktop, not so much. </p>

  • Tony Barrett

    16 September, 2017 - 9:21 am

    <p>Yet another lame effort by MS to try and kickstart that floundering platform known as UWP. MS twist and turn and make vague announcements about this and that to try and inject some interest in an API they desperately need to be a success, not only from a revenue point of view, but to stand even the remotest chance of re-launching their mobile platform *again*.</p><p>The main problem is, even on the desktop, there's very little interest in their app store. It's generally a case of not what big new UWP apps are launching this month, but more of a how many are leaving or closing down!</p>

    • NazmusLabs

      19 September, 2017 - 12:21 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#177176"><em>In reply to ghostrider:</em></a></blockquote><p>This is for the XBOX, not windows. Take your whiny self somewhere else.</p>

  • Jules Wombat

    16 September, 2017 - 12:08 pm

    <p>Bring back XNA.</p><p> Indie Games developers deserted Microsoft Windows Games, when they dumped on XNA developers.</p>

    • NazmusLabs

      19 September, 2017 - 12:19 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#177196"><em>In reply to Jules_Wombat:</em></a></blockquote><p>No. Unity does more than XNA ever could.</p>

  • MutualCore

    16 September, 2017 - 1:20 pm

    <p>This is nice, but Microsoft needs to make a UWP app that does everything Steam does. Purchase games, DLC, soundtracks, wishlists, community, ID@XBox, etc… Just hosting the bare-bones game on the Store is not going to cut it!</p>

  • JaviAl

    Premium Member
    18 September, 2017 - 11:34 am

    <p>This is the quality of Microsoft last's developments like Windows 10:</p><p><br></p><p>-Microsoft admits to gaming performance issues in Windows 10 Creators Update:</p><p><a href="https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-admits-to-gaming-performance-issues-in-windows-10-creators-update&quot; target="_blank">https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-admits-to-gaming-performance-issues-in-windows-10-creators-update</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p&gt;

    • NazmusLabs

      19 September, 2017 - 12:22 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#177436"><em>In reply to JaviAl:</em></a></blockquote><p>This is taking about the XBox, not Windows. UWP games on windows never had restrictions.</p>

      • JaviAl

        Premium Member
        19 September, 2017 - 2:24 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#177919"><em>In reply to NazmusLabs:</em></a></blockquote><p>Is talking about UWP games in XBox and Windows 10. UWP is the same on both platforms.</p>

        • NazmusLabs

          20 September, 2017 - 8:20 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#177949"><em>In reply to JaviAl:</em></a></blockquote><p>I know, but I actually know the background and the history behind all this. I am not your average user who is making stuff up and doesn't know what he's talking about. UWP on Windows 10 had unrestricted access to all the RAM and raw power of the GPU with DX12. UWP on Xbox ONE, had restricted RAM and didn't have full access. That is because with the original release of XB1, it ran a Hyper-V server at its core, hosting 2 different OSes. One ran Windows 8, with WinRT apps while the other OS ran a custom Xbox OS that ran Games. The Win8 portions of the OS that ran WinRT apps didn't give the WinRT platform full access because games weren't meant to run on that environment. With Windows 10, UWP is an evolution of WinRT, and to enable write once and play everywhere, WinRT games for Windows 10 (aka UWP) need to run on Xbox, but the original VM restrictions form 2003 remained. Today, some of the restrictions have been pulled.</p><p><br></p><p>There you have it. As you can see, I am very aware of what the article is talking about, what UWP is, and I can tell you, this article was written exclusively for the Xbox One.</p><p><br></p><p>Any questions?</p>

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