Universal Windows Platform (UWP) games are getting access to more hardware resources on the Xbox One according to an article by Windows Central.
The Universal Windows Platform is the app platform for Windows 10. devices. Developing for one device that fits into the platform allows for it to run on all devices on the platform including PCs, mobile devices, tablets, consoles, and even the HoloLens. Apps developed in the UWP can then be placed on the Windows Store and accessed by any of the devices in these categories. Although these apps can run on all of these devices, additional programming may be required for the specific hardware requirements of each device; for example, a programmer would likely want to implement controller support for a game that was going to be made available for the Xbox One or upcoming Xbox One X console.
However, apps published through this scheme have some restrictions when it comes to the Xbox One. Currently, a game that's published to the Xbox One through the Windows Store has a cap on resource usage on Microsoft's flagship console: it will only be able to make use of 4 shared CPU cores, 1 GB of RAM, and 50% of the GPU for games utilizing Direct3D11. An update is coming to the Xbox One in the Fall of 2017 that will allow UWP apps to make use of 6 exclusive CPU cores, 5GB of RAM, and full access to the GPU for games that use Direct3D12.
This increase in power won't extend solely to UWP apps; games that are created through ID@Xbox or the Xbox Live Creators Program will be able to make use of the additional resources as well.
What do you think of Microsoft allowing UWP games to access more power on the Xbox One console? Do you think the restrictions that are currently in place were reasonable or were they too heavy-handed? Which games do you think will benefit from the increased access to processing power and RAM? Let us know in the comments below!
