A major selling point of the Xbox Ally and Ally As part of the company’s recent Xbox Partner Showcase, Microsoft has announced that Windows “Full Screen Experience” or FSE is finally becoming available for all other Windows 11 handhelds starting November 21st.
For the most part, FSE lets you live inside a touch and controller-friendly version of the Xbox PC app instead of the usual Windows desktop. The launcher aggregates games from multiple game marketplaces like Steam and the Epic Games Store, and gives you easy access to Game Pass if you subscribe. As part of Microsoft’s optimizations, FSE also uses fewer resources, and offers simpler ways to switch between apps and setup Windows for the first time.
All of these changes are supposed to make Windows easier to use without a mouse and keyboard, and closer to what you’d get from a console. Compared to SteamOS, which has gone through countless updates since Valve launched it with Steam Deck in 2022, FSE still has a long way to go, but pushing the software to more devices may force Microsoft to iterate quickly.
While PC handheld owners will be the first to take advantage of these improvements, Microsoft’s announcement also noted that the company plans to bring the experience “to more Windows 11 PC form factors through the Xbox and Windows Insider programs soon.” This may add further weight to reports that the company is planning to make the next Xbox an expensive PC rather than a traditional game console.