Game streaming coming to Windows 10, and bitstream coming to Xbox One

Enlarge / Microsoft's Jen McCoy speaks about updates to gaming in Windows 10. (credit: Jennifer Hahn)

Microsoft's Windows Creator Update event included a brief segment about the company's game-specific updates. That Wednesday segment kicked off with an announcement that Windows will now come with live, online game-streaming capabilities built in.

These won't be powered by the popular game-streaming site Twitch, however, but by Beam, a very similar game-streaming service that Microsoft acquired in August. Instead of having to connect games to Beam's Web UI, PC gamers will be able to load the Windows "game bar" interface—which already exists in Windows 10 by pressing the Windows key and the G button—and pick a "Beam" streaming option.

Beam's Twitch-like functions are boosted by a stress on incredibly low latency, so viewers aren't buried behind a lengthy delay between when the action happens and when they see it. Beam also offers a gamification system that rewards viewers with "experience points," and these points can be spent on interface customizations and on placing votes for what a game streamer might do. Microsoft didn't unveil anything else about how its own games will more deeply link to the Beam interface and its voting system.