Windows gaming on ARM has been impossible until now. In fact, successive attempts to promote the platform since Microsoft launched the Surface Pro have all failed to match the experience of other great architectures in PCs (x86 from Intel and AMD) in almost any computing task. The problem was in the low level of hardware and also in the operating system. Or rather in the emulation of non-native code, always problematic.

Apple has shown the rest of the industry how to make a successful transition in hardware architectures and the viability of ARM on PCs Now we have another new attempt from Windows. Microsoft is including it in the new Copilot+ PC platform. While it will also work with Intel and AMD processors in the future, the first devices to arrive have ARM and specifically the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X SoC.

This week saw the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Book4 Edge and Microsoft’s Surface. In the absence of relevant evidence, there is no doubt about it The new platform has better foundations than the previous one. But it is unknown and the first results that have appeared are not exactly positive, especially in the game section.

Will it be possible to play Windows on ARM?

To support the platform, Microsoft has released a feature update for Windows 11 24H2 that specifically targets ARM-based Copilot+ PCs. The company has released details on some improvements and optimizations related to running games on its developer blog. And they’re promising, always in Microsoft’s opinion.

The most important is prism. This tool, equivalent to the Rosetta used by Apple to emulate applications, will be the key to making the software work with non-native code, which you know is mostly on ARM and much more in the PC gaming section.

According to Microsoft «Prism works transparently every time you open an x86 or x64 application on an Arm-based Windows 11 device, converting x86 or x64 code to the Arm64 instruction set without requiring additional work from developers. Since many games today are x86 or x64, Prism unlocks a large catalog of games that run great on Arm under emulation.”.

The company released a video of Baldur’s Gate 3 (remember the best game of 2023 for PC) running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X PC with the help of Prism:

In addition to Prism, Microsoft also talked about compatibility with anti-cheat systems in Windows 11 24H2 for Arm. The tech giant claims that all major solutions like Denuvo, Welbia and BattlEye will be available for Windows gaming on ARM. Microsoft also released another Rainbow Six Siege video

Personally, I would never buy a Copilot+ PC for gaming, because obviously with emulation and an integrated GPU like Adreno, Will it be possible to play Windows on ARM with a reasonable user experience? And the rest of the Windows apps that make up the vast majority of Microsoft’s ecosystem?

It is a mystery that we will clarify for you next week, as we are already thoroughly analyzing the next generation ASUS laptop for this platform. I’ll be there.