Whether you’re pulling up information about optimizing a build in Diablo 4, looking for a walkthrough for Rise of the Golden Idol, or can’t figure out how to nail a combo in Street Fighter 6, the internet is an indispensable tool when gaming. Microsoft has introduced a new feature called Game Assist to its Edge browser that the company hopes will make it your number one gaming companion.
Game Assist is a “game-optimized” version of Edge that can appear as part of the Windows Game Bar that pops up when you hit WinKey+G or press the Xbox button on your Xbox game pad. When you activate the Game Assist browser, it will appear as part of the Game Bar overlay and can be pinned to your screen to have it hover over your game. You can also set transparency so that it isn’t quite as obtrusive when pinned. The key feature, though, is the “game-aware new tab page.”
Right now, this only works with a short list of games, as the feature is currently in beta testing, but once it’s available live, Microsoft intends for this game-aware New Tab page to automatically detect which game you’re playing so that it can suggest game-specific guides for you to pull up. This version of Edge will have access to all of the same information that your Edge browser does, so any saved passwords, bookmarks, and so on will be present.
The list of games includes Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo IV, Minecraft, Roblox, Overwatch 2, Valorant, Fortnite, Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga, and League of Legends.
There’s an important caveat to all of this, though. You have to be willing to use the Windows Game Bar, of course, but right now, you also have to obtain the Microsoft Edge Beta browser and make it your default browser. For many who have committed to Chrome, Firefox, or some other browser, that’s going to be a non-starter. Microsoft hasn’t clarified whether Edge will have to be the default browser in the full release. Microsoft’s official page doesn’t clarify what ways the browser is optimized for gaming, but it would presumably have the browser consuming less memory and optimizing how much of your processor it can use in any given moment.
Game Assist does sound like a useful tool. Having access to that Diablo IV build information on the same screen as my game, for example, would make the build process go significantly faster. Having a custom map up that shows the location of all the baubles that open-world games want you to collect sounds like an absolute blessing. However, the current requirements mean that most of us will be waiting until the feature sees full release. And even then, if the default browser requirement sticks around, it might be a feature accessed by very few gamers.
If you want to try the feature out right now, Microsoft offers a walkthrough for setup on the announcement page.