Xbox App Launch Speed Boosted by Up to 60% — 5ch Reacts: “Steam’s Fine, Though”

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The story

Xbox’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) has announced an update that speeds up the Windows Xbox app’s launch time by up to 60%. Microsoft developers and a reporter from the US outlet The Verge have both praised the change for making handheld devices feel more like a console. On 5ch’s “Hardware/Industry” (Geha) board, the thread sparked by this news saw a mix of reactions — some praising Microsoft’s push on PC, others coolly replying that “Steam is good enough” — and the discussion expanded into a debate over the feature gap between the two platforms and why Steam remains so dominant.

What people said

2AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:42
@tomwarren
·
9h
Translated from English
I like that the new Xbox PC app feels more console-like on handhelds.
https://x.com/tomwarren/status/2118388800632303715
3AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:42
https://x.com/asha_shar/status/2118387881039593544
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2118387702227939328/vid/avc1/3840×2160/U1Sge3LdB3xwaxIf.mp4
@asha_shar
Translated from English
Making Xbox on Windows faster and more responsive. Starting today, we're rolling out an update that speeds up the app by up to 60%. It's a meaningful improvement, and there's still a lot more work to do.
7AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:43
Damn, Microsoft's actually serious about gaming
75AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:17
Re: #7
Microsoft puts out games like Age of Empires and Flight Simulator — not for everyone, but they've got some pretty solid titles
8AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:43
Steam's fine, though
54AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:24
Re: #8
The Xbox app can run Steam too, you know? Are you talking out of your ass without even trying it?
59AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:32
Re: #8
Because PS5 has a jailbroken, pirated "free store"!
13AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:44
Just like a console!!!!

Nintendo fanboy ("Chika-kun"): "But I still won't buy it"
64AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:47
Re: #13
Wait, now you're calling PC users "Chika-kun" too?

You PlayStation fanboys, lolllllllllllllllllllllllll
14AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:44
Shouldn't Sony just get into gaming PCs already?
18AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:44
"Just like a console" — is that supposed to be a joke?
33AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:55
Re: #18

This 50-year-old guy (ID: 7zcT6hJq0) doesn't even own a PC,
so he just doesn't get it.
He loves his Nintendo console a little too much…
21AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:45
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA lolololololol
22AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:45
That's it for the thread post.
Take it easy and enjoy.
24AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:46
Turns out, no PC user cares at all
25AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:47
PlayStation just keeps getting left behind by the times
26AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:48
Re: #1

31AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:50
Re: #26
Delete it, delete it, delete it, delete it, delete it, delete it, delete it
41AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:59
Re: #26
Well, that pretty much answers it
92AnonymousNov 6, 2026 14:44
Re: #26
Yeah, exactly
There's no way MS can make anything decent
Windows is garbage after all
29AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:49
Wasn't there talk about Win11 getting lighter for gaming?
And doesn't the Xbox launcher support Steam now?
52AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:19
Re: #29
By the time that ships, we'll probably be on Windows 12
56AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:26
Re: #29
DX ray tracing is also getting a new model that drastically cuts VRAM usage, and since they're already working with NVIDIA on major VRAM-compression tech, it'll be here soon anyway
30AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:50
At the end of the day, the fact that Xbox alone hasn't been cracked for piracy is huge

Sure, the Series has a smaller install base, but even the One — which they practically gave away — never got properly cracked either, so that says something
43AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:00
Re: #30
Apparently they've got insane device-level locks on it
Not even comparable to some chump who leaked their own master key
32AnonymousNov 6, 2026 11:52
MS also says they're massively speeding up shader settings for PC games too — they're putting in work beyond just Xbox itself
53AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:20
Re: #32
Games bought on the MS Store sometimes come pre-compiled with shaders, so they launch fast right from the very first run
63AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:44
PC users: "Don't need the Xbox app"
69AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:57
Re: #63
lolololol
72AnonymousNov 6, 2026 12:58
The thing is, Steam doesn't even seem to have any intention of improving its app…
Well, beefing it up just costs more money, and SteamOS already flopped hard, so I guess it can't be helped
But honestly, it's been bloated for way too long
77AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:22
Re: #72
"Flopped hard"? It's free — what's there to flop
78AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:23
Re: #72
For people allergic to Windows, SteamOS is a better option than a Mac
I could get it if you said the famously unstable Epic Games Launcher is heavy, but Steam being heavy? What kind of garbage spec are you running to get that
And this Xbox app thing is basically a knockoff of Steam's Big Picture mode anyway — its Xbox mode can even backfire, and some games aren't supported, so it's a hassle and there's no real reason to use it
83AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:32
If you're allergic to Windows but still play PC games, fine, just get over it already — but being allergic to SteamOS makes no sense either
Who even buys a Deck? People who play PC games more than they have sex, eat, drink water, or breathe oxygen, that's who
85AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:46
Steam's unbeatable because even after a clean OS install, if you'd set it up outside the C: drive, everything just carries over as-is
Reinstalling hundreds of GB — sometimes over a TB — of games is such a pain

Re: #83
If you've got a self-built AMD rig, you can just run SteamOS on it
No need for a Deck
87AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:51
Re: #85
Wait, you're building your own UMPC?
99AnonymousNov 6, 2026 16:48
Re: #85
Dude, what year do you think it is? Still the Heisei era? (Heisei: Japan's imperial era, 1989–2019)
84AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:41
Steam can only manage Steam games, so
being able to see Ubisoft, EA, Epic, and GOG titles all in one place is nice
Though personally, I use Playnite
86AnonymousNov 6, 2026 13:51
Re: #84
Sure, it's about management, but with that you lose access to Steam's reviews, Workshop, and guides, so I end up thinking "eh, never mind"
89AnonymousNov 6, 2026 14:10
There are a lot of reasons Steam is so strong

Support is solid
Refunds and sales are great

But above all, it's the strong community that really sets it apart from every other store
100AnonymousNov 6, 2026 16:50
Re: #89
Steam's support is "solid"? Even though they just leave cheaters and hacked lobbies completely unchecked?

Background and Key Points of This Discussion

Microsoft has been pushing to optimize the Windows Xbox app for handheld devices as well, and it’s worth noting that the “60% faster launch” figure comes from the developer account’s own announcement on X — it hasn’t been independently verified by a third party. What split the thread was the question of how far the Xbox app can actually encroach on Steam’s stronghold. Those favorable to Microsoft pointed to its own titles like Age of Empires and Flight Simulator as evidence of its “seriousness,” while skeptics argued no one will actually switch apps, citing the strength of Steam’s community features like reviews and Workshop. One post claimed the Xbox console itself has avoided large-scale piracy, but that’s simply the poster’s own view — no official comparative data was presented to back it up.

※This article is an excerpt/summary compiled from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “[Supremacy] Xbox Finally Gets Serious About Its PC App — Just Like a Console! Plus a Godly Update That Speeds Up Launch by 60%.”

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