Microsoft proves Windows 11 bloatware impacts gaming performance

Microsoft has proved it can remove the Windows 11 bloatware if it really wants to, as its new PC gaming handhelds come without all that software that bogs down a system.

Microsoft has been heavily criticized in the past for Windows 11 having so much bloatware, which is a slang term for pre-installed software that isn't critical to the functionality of the operating system. Bloatware can come in various forms, and common Microsoft-added bloatware is as follows: Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Candy Crush Saga, Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, Disney+, Microsoft News, Dropbox, etc. Essentially, any piece of additional software that comes pre-installed with Windows 11 and wasn't requested by the user upon installation could be considered bloatware.

The problem of Windows 11 containing so much bloatware has reached a point where independent developers have created two-click tools to remove all bloatware after Windows 11 has completed its installation. You can check out one of those tools here. However, Microsoft has proved with its announcement of new Windows 11-powered PC gaming handhelds called the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X that it can cut Windows 11 down to its absolute basics to obtain better performance.

Jason Beaumont, vice president of experiences at Xbox, said to The Verge, "When the player boots into the full-screen experience, there is a whole bunch of Windows stuff that doesn't get loaded. We're not loading the desktop wallpaper, the taskbar, or a bunch of processes that are really designed around productivity scenarios for Windows."

These reductions in Windows 11 features are intended to optimize the system for better gaming performance, proving Microsoft is aware that the Windows 11 desktop version does come with additional software that can impact gaming performance, or else the company would simply leave all of the removed features on the handheld device.