Xbox Cloud Gaming gets a new Clarity Boost feature – but only in Microsoft Edge
Xbox has revealed Clarity Boost, a new feature exclusive to Xbox Cloud Gaming that only runs via Microsoft's Edge browser.
If you've ever been a little unimpressed by the image quality when you're streaming a game, Xbox might have just the thing for you with its newely-announced Clarity Boost feature which promises to improve the sharpness of titles running on Cloud Gaming streams in the Microsoft Edge browser.
Per a new post over on the Xbox blog, Microsoft noted that Clarity Boost uses “a set of client-side scaling improvements” that use a little more processing power on your end via the Edge browser to improve overall image quality.
If you're eager to give this new feature a trial yourself, here's what you need to do:
- Download Microsoft Edge Canary.
- To confirm you are in Microsoft Edge Canary, navigate to edge://settings/help to make sure you are on version 96.0.1033.0 or later.
- To enable Clarity Boost, go to www.xbox.com/play, login and start a game.
- Open the more actions (…) menu.
- Select Enable Clarity Boost option.
If this works, it could offset some long-held complaints about cloud gaming (that is, stream quality is variable at best) and we could even end up seeing other companies like Google or Nvidia adopt the tech – or try to – for their own game streaming services.
A quick trial on my PC sees a distinct improvement in quality when the feeature is turned on, though it's not a panacea – there's still some evidence of graphics artifacts. But it's night and day compared to what it is without the Boost enabled.
Back in September, we saw Microsoft allow Xbox Insiders to stream cloud games to their consoles, as well as roll out support for Xbox Cloud Gaming and remote play on Windows 10 PCs. The company's current philosophy is to remove all barriers to play and get games in as many people's hands as possible – and that's really showing.