Xbox app now available on Arm laptops, growing the borders of Microsoft's games empire

The Xbox app is natively available for Windows 11 laptops running on Arm devices, opening up yet another platform to expand Microsoft's video games presence.

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Xbox has just expanded its footprint to Arm-based laptops. Microsoft today announced that the Xbox app has been released on Arm laptops running Windows 11, allowing more users to play, stream, and--most importantly--buy Xbox games directly in Microsoft's first-party app.

"The Xbox app is now available on all Arm-based Windows 11 PCs. Players can now download and enjoy a wide range of titles from the Xbox PC app game catalog on Arm-based Windows 11 PCs," the Xbox Wire post reads.

• Read more: Microsoft makes the Xbox app available on Windows 11 for Arm with 85% of games compatible

Microsoft goes on to say that it has made significant advancements with Prism, the emulator that's required to run Windows on Arm. Thanks to these innovations, more than 3/4ths of the entire Xbox Game Pass library can be played natively on Arm laptops.

"Today, more than 85% of the Game Pass catalog is compatible with these PCs, and we're actively working with partners to expand support even further.

"Prism, the emulator that runs x86/x64 software on Arm, now supports AVX and AVX2, which helps expand compatibility for many modern games.

"For titles not yet supported running locally, Xbox Cloud Gaming remains an easy way to jump in while we work with partners to broaden compatibility."

Microsoft's work to meld Xbox and Windows together has been underway for a while, and today's announcement feels adjacent to the reports of a hybridized Xbox PC platform.

Multiple reports say that Microsoft's next Xbox console will actually be a PC that is running Windows 11and not the native Xbox OS.

At the bottom of today's news post, Windows principal program manager Brynnan Fink says:

Windows and Xbox continue to collaborate across the gaming community, OEMs, silicon innovators and game studios to expand catalog compatibility and deliver a consistently great Windows gaming experience-whether you're on a powerful desktop, a purpose‑built handheld, or an Arm‑based Windows 11 laptop.

Our focus remains on improving compatibility, enhancing performance and delivering experiences that make it easy to jump in and play.

It is further believed that Microsoft's next-gen Xbox PC will be made by OEMs as well as being a first-party device, offering a hybridized solution to production and manufacturing.

This emphasis on cross-platform compatibility could just as easily be applied internally, with the ultimate goal of transmuting Xbox's native console OS into some sort of Windows environment, possibly through a similar framework approach to emulation to make it happen.

Microsoft has yet to announce plans for its Xbox PC console, or confirm any details that the device will in fact be a Windows 11 PC instead of a console. In the past, management has said that the next-gen Xbox device will deliver high-end gaming, but no exact details were given.

"The next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end curated experience. You're starting to see some of our thinking in this handheld, but I don't want to give it all away," Xbox president Sarah Bond said in October of last year.