Have you ever paused your game, tabbed over to a browser, and Googled something you were stuck on? You aren’t alone. 88% of PC players have done that, Microsoft says. While this works for a lot of people, it can cause games to glitch out (like Skyrim, which somehow always loses my crosshairs).
Microsoft’s solution is Edge Game Assist, a fully-featured in-game browser that’s similar to Steam’s overlay but with a twist. It’s essentially a gaming-optimized version of Microsoft Edge that appears on top of your game in Game Bar. Here’s the cool part: It knows what you’re playing and will toss tips your way (although that feature only works for a few games at the moment). And even cooler, you’ll be able to access your browsing data from the normal version of Edge, so you won’t need to log back in to any sites. That also means you can access your browsing data from your phone and your PC.
Game Assist comes with the same elements as most in-game overlays and lets you pin Game Assist on your screen so you can watch a walkthrough for those tricky parts (like fighting Elizabeth in Persona 3.) And, of course, you can open go-to apps like Spotify and Discord from the sidebar.
Interested in trying it for yourself? Game Assist (Preview) is available today on Windows 11, but it’s still in beta. You’ll need Microsoft Edge Beta 132 to check it out, but be aware that it could be unstable and crash during gameplay. Once installed, all you have to do is press Windows + G to open Game Assist.
For now, you can only use a mouse and keyboard setup with Game Assist, but Microsoft says it is bringing controller and handheld support in the future. Maybe that means Game Assist could make its way to Xbox Cloud Streaming platforms like the ROG Ally in the future.
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it’s a…
Xbox Game Pass is getting tons of new games following Black Ops 6 success
We know a lot of you are playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Xbox right now, but the company just announced some games coming to Xbox Game Pass — specifically the Game Pass Standard tier — in the first half of November.
The biggest game coming to the service (and we mean that literally) is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Xbox and developers Asobo Studio previously reported that it will have a smaller install size than its predecessor — 127GB versus 157GB — but it’ll also require 64GB of RAM. All of this is to help stream immense detail to the player as they fly around the world. Asobo says helped it to increase “the detail of its virtual environment by a factor of 4,000.” Alongside the hyperrealistic graphics is a new career mode where you go through training and missions to become a pilot and a challenge mode where you compete against other pilots. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to Game Pass at launch on November 19.
What’s new in November 2024: 7 games to keep an eye on
Assassin’s Creed Shadows may have been delayed to next year, but November is no slouch when it comes to new games. We’re getting sequels to some fantastic games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and The Case of the Golden Idol, new games in series like Mario & Luigi, Horizon, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, and more. While not quite as densely packed as a busier-than-usual October, some late game-of-the-year contenders certainly have a chance to pop up over the next month.
With so many games are coming out every week nowadays, that can be a lot to sift through. To help, I’m kicking off the month by spotlighting seven upcoming video games that should be on your radar. Pick these up, and they should round out your game library and backlog as we head into 2024’s holiday season.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership (November 7)
Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch
You might want to wait a bit to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Steam
It’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launch day, which means potentially millions of players are hopping into the new single-player campaign, the updated multiplayer mode, and Zombies. While posts online about the performance of the game seem to be minimal, there have been reported issues on PC, specifically via Steam.
It’s been a common story lately about players being mad at third-party launchers on Steam, and that remains the case for Black Ops 6. Call of Duty’s is called Call of Duty HQ (COD HQ), and it’s a hub for players to manage their game installs, whether they want to only download certain game modes or launch a specific game. It seems as if players can only switch between modes through the launcher and have to go through multiple menus to boot the game up. In the worst cases, they can’t launch the game at all.