{"id":4672,"date":"2020-07-01T17:34:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/blog\/windows-10s-xbox-game-bar-adds-a-widget-store-and-much-needed-transparency-controls\/"},"modified":"2020-07-01T17:34:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T17:34:00","slug":"windows-10s-xbox-game-bar-adds-a-widget-store-and-much-needed-transparency-controls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/windows-10s-xbox-game-bar-adds-a-widget-store-and-much-needed-transparency-controls\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 10’s Xbox Game Bar adds a widget store and much-needed transparency controls"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Windows 10’s Xbox Game Bar adds a widget store and much-needed transparency controls<\/h2>\n

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Microsoft began offering more customization for Windows 10’s Xbox Game Bar on Wednesday, including a new \u201cwidget store\u201d complete with a dedicated\u00a0Destiny 2<\/em> widget that tracks your game progress. Microsoft also added some long-wanted transparency controls to help reduce the Game Bar screen clutter while you\u2019re gaming.<\/p>\n

When it was first added, Microsoft\u2019s Game Bar (which can be triggered with\u00a0Win + G<\/strong>, even when a game isn\u2019t running) gave gamers on-screen shortcuts to take screenshots, record video, and the like. Over time, Microsoft has continued to add functionality, including performance monitors and specific widgets for streaming controls and other functions.<\/p>\n

With a total of eleven available widgets for the Game Bar, Microsoft took a page from its apps model on Wednesday and created the free Game Bar Widget Store, which is accessible from within the Game Bar itself. (To access it, you\u2019ll need to open the Game Bar, then click the Widget Menu\u2019s \u201clist\u201d icon, just to the right of the clock, then scroll down all the way to the bottom.) As you might expect, the Widget Store lists the widgets and allows users to add or delete them as they choose.<\/p>\n

\"Microsoft<\/a> Mark Hachman \/ IDG<\/small>
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Transparency and click-through controls are now integrated into the Xbox Game Bar within Windows.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Microsoft also made two general improvements to Game Bar that had been long overdue: the ability to adjust the transparency of widgets via a sliding scale, and the choice to make those widgets clickable or not. With everything from performance monitors to streaming controls cluttering up your playspace, the transparency controls should allow you to focus on the game, not the overlay. Microsoft\u2019s Game Bar will also allow you to decide if you want to make the portion of the screen that a widget covers accessible to the widget, or whether clicking that space will register with the game itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A bevy of new Xbox Game Bar widgets<\/h2>\n

Several new widgets are being introduced today, though the most intriguing may be Ghost, a\u00a0Destiny 2<\/em> widget that \u201ctracks progress during gameplay and provides instant access to bounties, quests and triumphs,\u201d according to Microsoft. If you don\u2019t have the game installed,\u00a0Destiny<\/em> developer Bungie also uses it as a hub to track achievements on PCs or consoles. Microsoft took pains to point out that the code is built right into the Game Bar, so it won\u2019t trip anti-cheat protections.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s what the new Destiny 2 widget looks like.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Corsair is also adding two new widgets: iCUE Lighting and iCUE Profile Selector. The first widget\u00a0provides access to Corsair\u2019s assortment of Lighting Link patterns, such as Spiral Rainbow, Rainbow Wave, Visor, and Type Lighting. The latter syncs with the separate iCUE software,\u00a0 providing access to lighting controls, cooling settings, and more. The two are bundled together on the Widget Store, and require the separate installation of the iCUE software.<\/p>\n

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Not enough bling? The Corsair iCUE widget promises more RGB goodness.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Likewise, Razer is adding its own widgets for adding more RGB bling to the gaming experience: Chrome RGB and the THX Spatial Audio widget. The first widget can sync Razer\u2019s Chroma lighting system with games. The latter toggles on and off THX audio, where available, and provides quick access to equalizer settings and other controls. \u201cWith these new widgets, streamers on Twitch can share their lighting setup with viewers in real time \u2013 viewers\u2019 Chroma-enabled devices will mimic the streamer\u2019s as they play, no add-ons required,\u201d Microsoft wrote in a blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Broadcasting software XSplit released its own beta widget in April, and said Wednesday that it is re-releasing it as a full 1.0 release. The widget now supports its Broadcaster software in a beta capacity, with full support expected in July.\u00a0New Gamecaster controls\u00a0include a new Audio Monitor to quickly check whether your streaming devices are muted and monitor audio levels, and the ability to pre-configure streams (settings, titles, categorization and other details) directly from the widget. They require XSplit\u2019s Broadcaster and Gamecaster apps to be installed separately.<\/p>\n