Microsoft has announced that its new DirectStorage technology will not be a Windows 11 exclusive — it will be available to Windows 10 PC Gamers as long as they have the latest updates.
DirectStorage is a new technology from Microsoft that aims to make loading games even faster than before. This DirectX API has some pretty sweet advantages and promised to bring "best-in-class IO tech" to PC gamers late last year; unfortunately, Microsoft later announced that the tech would "only be available with Windows 11." A new developer blog, however, indicates that it has reversed course on the exclusivity requirement.
DirectStorage Will Be Compatible With Windows 10
Windows 11 will have some cool new features, but you won't have to miss out on DirectStorage — Microsoft says that anyone using Windows 10 version 1909 and up will be able to take advantage of this new tech.
"Microsoft is committed to ensuring that when game developers adopt a new API, they can reach as many gamers as possible," read the developer blog. "As such, games built against the DirectStorage SDK will be compatible with Windows 10, version 1909 and up; the same as the DirectX 12 Agility SDK."
That said, Microsoft is promising some serious improvements over its predecessor with Windows 11 — while it may work well enough on Windows 10, there will be new storage stack optimizations in Windows 11 that may give gamers even greater performance.
DirectStorage won't magically make all games run faster, mind — it will work best with titles that have been integrated with the tech. You can learn more about DirectStorage and what the future holds in today's developer blog.
What do you think of Microsoft dropping the Windows 11 requirement for the DirectStorage API? Do you think more developers should focus on improving loading times? Let us know in the comments below!
