Despite polarized opinions about Windows 10, for the majority of gamers it has become the primary operating system. Fortunately, several developers have decided to apply optimizations with the new Windows in mind, but everything seems to indicate that Microsoft has special plans. In one of its latest leaked builds, a "Game Mode" appeared, which in theory will seek to free up more resources when it detects a game running.
Undoubtedly, this is a classic practice. For years we have tried to free up additional resources so that a game runs better. A little more available memory, fewer active services, closing background programs, and even interrupting Windows Explorer are some of the actions found in any optimization list. The advancement of hardware and greater efficiency on the part of operating systems reduced the impact of these tricks on performance, but also changed certain parameters. With the arrival of Windows Vista, Microsoft implemented the vision of "free memory is wasted memory". However, that does not prevent the existence of leaks, and the other side of the coin is that if some processes waste memory, they are not really using it.
So we come to the last round of rumors reaching Windows 10. According to WalkingCat, a Twitter user (under the designation @h0x0d) who correctly reported news such as the x86 emulation over ARM, the latest leaked build 14997 of Windows 10 includes a mechanism called "Game Mode". What this mode supposedly will do is adjust the resource reallocation logic at the CPU, GPU, and memory level to prioritize any running game. In other words, Game Mode will make a computer with Windows 10 behave similarly to a console, casting all secondary and tertiary processes to even lower planes.
From a certain point of view, Game Mode would only expand Microsoft's current strategy, which is to reduce the distance between Windows 10 and everything Xbox, unifying experiences. Some users doubt the continuity of Microsoft's consoles, but Project Scorpio points in the opposite direction to those doubts. Game Mode still needs official confirmation, therefore, we will have to wait for new builds under the Insider program.
