On the Xbox Series X, Auto HDR improves the color gamut and luminance of backward compatible games and will work similarly on the PC. Users with an HDR-compatible screen will be able to improve the visual quality of the games by switching the feature in the Windows HD color settings, even if these games were not designed with an HDR mode.If you’re still confused about the visual benefits of automatic HDR, there’s a useful example in the blog post (below) that uses a luminance heat map to show how HDR can bring out the details in a Gears 5 scene.
Basically, it’s like using an automatic filter on a photo that you took with your phone. Older games will naturally benefit from this technology and, in many ways, are coming to life thanks to it.
Automatic HDR heat map image. (Source: Microsoft)
As Microsoft views the feature, it is looking for feedback as it enables Auto HDR in more titles and optimizes performance. As for the impact on the performance of this new feature, Microsoft says there will be a slight effect, but certainly not an intense one. “While Auto HDR requires some computing power from the GPU to be implemented, we don’t expect it to have a significant impact on your gaming experience,” says the blog post.
It’s not the only advantage of the X Series coming to the PC – as of today, EA Play is becoming part of the Xbox Game Pass for PC. Meanwhile, Series X users will soon be able to suspend games to improve download speed.
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.