Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Your PC games are about to load much faster

By

The DirectStorage API is now available for Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs, which should help games take advantage of faster storage.

Microsoft recently announced on its Developer Blog that the Application Programming Interface will be available for the Windows operating systems, “allowing developers to more fully utilize the speed of the latest storage devices.” This is intended to bring greater optimization for gaming on PCs in terms of speed, bandwidth, and latency.

Dying Light 2 is displayed on the HP Omen 27c monitor sitting on a desk.
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

DirectStorage API brings the technology that allows Xbox Series X and Series S consoles to load quickly to PCs. The API also allows games to take advantage of higher speeds of the best solid-state drives or best internal hard drives, Windows Central noted.

Recommended Videos

Tom’s Hardware also noted that Microsoft announced this availability not long after the game Forspoken by Luminous Productions was confirmed to have built-in DirectStorage support.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Currently, compatibility details are minimal, but it is known that DirectStorage API functions with PCIe 3.0, though PCIe 4.0 is favorable. Similarly, DirectStorage API is compatible with both Windows 10 and Windows 11, but the newer operating system is preferable.

A flow chart of GPU assets for Microsoft DirectStorage API.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Although Microsoft has officially announced its DirectStorage API, the company plans to showcase the feature further at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) on March 22. Those interested in learning more about DirectStorage can find information on Microsoft’s website.

Related

DirectStorage has the potential to unlock available performance on storage options released as far back as 2009, Tom’s Hardware noted. PC compatibility was intended only for Windows 11; however, Microsoft was able to make further optimizations to expand its reach back to the prior Windows 10 operating system as well.

Microsoft also noted that one aspect that remains missing from the technology is GPU decompression, which would allow for better data transfer between the different components, including storage, operating memory, the CPU, and GPU. This update is expected to be coming next in the brand’s road map, but there is no specific date for when the tweak will be available.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Fionna Agomuoh
Fionna Agomuoh
Computing Writer
Fionna Agomuoh is a Computing Writer at Digital Trends. She covers a range of topics in the computing space, including…
This resource is the Holy Grail of PC gaming
pcgamingwiki is fantastic featured

I love the PCGamingWiki, and if you're aware of it, you probably love it too. It's not some hidden gem among PC gamers, but judging by the website's Discord numbers (about 2,900 members) and active contributors (around 300), it doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves.

It's a community of devout PC gamers that have picked apart over 50,000 PC gamers, just to understand how they work and list what they're capable of. It's a project 12 years in the making, started by Andrew Tsai (Andytizer) who went onto establish the AppleGamingWiki, as well. And over my years of testing games, reviewing hardware, and booting up plenty of titles in my free time, I've used the PCGamingWiki hundreds, if not thousands, of times.

Read more
The internet is furious about Monster Hunter Wilds’ PC requirements
A hunter dodges a monster in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Following up on the Sony State of Play, Capcom released the PC requirements for the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds, and the response hasn't been great. For the most part, the requirements aren't insane. You'll need a midrange CPU from the last few generations, 16GB of RAM, and 140GB of space of SSD -- yes, a 140GB game isn't that insane in 2024. The issue concerns what kind of graphics card you'll need.

In the recommended specs, Capcom lists the RTX 2070 Super, RTX 4060, or RX 6700 XT as possible options. However, this is to get you 60 frames per second (fps) at 1080p with the Medium graphics preset. Worse, and the center of most of the controversy, is that these requirements assume you have frame generation enabled.

Read more
EmuDeck is slowly taking over my PC gaming setup
EmuDeck running on a Windows PC.

I was once like you. I thought EmuDeck was just a quick and easy way to set up emulators on my Steam Deck, and despite using it for years, I never thought more of it than that. But slowly over the past few months, EmuDeck has become one of the most essential apps I have installed on my gaming PC.

EmuDeck showed up on the scene in 2022, originally built as a "collection of scripts that allows you to autoconfigure your Steam Deck" for emulation. It will install your emulators, configure them, create directories for your games, and hook into apps like Steam ROM Manager so you can see all of your emulated games in your Steam Deck library. It's been an essential tool for retro and emulation enthusiasts since release, but EmuDeck has grown into something much more powerful -- and it's not slowing down.
Always humble beginnings

Read more