JAKARTA - Microsoft announced in a blog post three days ago that the Xbox DirectStorage API is now available on PC. However, it may still take some time for players to get their hands on PC games that actually use the technology.
Microsoft's DirectStorage technology will cut game loading times and give developers the potential to build more detailed game worlds, by streaming data directly from the NVMe solid state drive to the GPU, without the CPU decompressing it first.
“Starting today, Windows games can ship with DirectStorage. This release of the public SDK ushers in a new era of fast load times and the detailed world of PC gaming by enabling developers to better take advantage of the speed of the latest storage devices," Microsoft wrote on its blog.
In September 2020, Microsoft has announced that DirectStorage is coming to Windows. After gathering feedback across developer previews, Microsoft has finally made the API available for all Microsoft partners to ship with their games.
Microsoft also provides advice for gamers, DirectStorage will remain compatible on Windows 10 devices. However, the company still recommends the latest version, namely Windows 11.
The blog even says that gamers don't need to install an NVMe SSD to see improvements from DirectStorage, but installing games onto an NVMe SSD will maximize your IO performance and help you get more out of DirectStorage's benefits.
"This release of DirectStorage gives developers everything they need to move to a new IO model for their games, and Microsoft is working on more ways to take work off the CPU."
The first PC game to use DirectStorage technology is Forspoken, which will be used as a showcase for the technology at this year's GDC. Unfortunately, the game's developer delayed its release, which was originally from March to October 11.
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