Windows news recap: gaming experience improvements, Xbox Live services being retired on Windows Phone, and more

Welcome back to our Windows news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Microsoft Accounts could be mandatory to set up upcoming versions of Windows 11 Pro

Windows 11 Home already requires a Microsoft Account for set up, however, it now looks like Microsoft might begin to include this requirement on Windows 11 Pro too, as it has begun testing the change with Windows Insiders.

Gaming is getting better on Windows 11 with Xbox HDR Calibration app, other optimizations

Microsoft is looking to improve the gaming experience on Windows 11. To achieve this, Microsoft is bringing the Xbox HDR Calibration app to Windows, whilst adding support for Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate for games running in windowed mode to reduce input lag.

Microsoft is retiring Xbox Live services on Windows Phone on May 16, 2022

On May 16th Xbox Live services on Windows Phone will shut down, Microsoft has announced. This will mean that, after that date, some games may stop working if they rely on Xbox Live services, whilst some features may stop functioning, such as earning achievements.

Android apps, more begin rolling out to Windows 11 non-Insiders

The time has finally come: Android apps have begun rolling out this week to Windows 11 users. Other updates have also been released, including a redesigned Media Player app, a redesigned Notepad app, and the ability to get clock and date on taskbars in multiple monitors.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows news.