Microsoft and Qualcomm have spent the past year and a half working to promote a version of Windows built specifically to run on Arm processors, and the Windows on Arm platform is now seeing some very encouraging signs, as the official Xbox app has arrived along with impressive game library compatibility. While most essential apps now support the architecture natively, gaming has lagged behind. That picture could start to change significantly in 2026, as the launch of a native Xbox app and the arrival of more powerful Arm hardware point to a new horizon for gaming on the platform.
The Native Xbox App and Windows on Arm's Progress
Windows users with laptops powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon chips can now download the native version of the Xbox app. The move is expected to noticeably improve performance compared with before. Gaming support on Windows on Arm has come a long way since 2024, and further improvements are likely to arrive soon.
Since Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon X Elite lineup in 2024, many manufacturers have brought Arm-based Windows PCs to market. Important, popular apps such as Google Chrome, Slack, WhatsApp, Adobe Lightroom and Spotify now all run natively on the platform. That delivers clearly better performance than rivals on the traditional x86 architecture, which have to go through the Prism compatibility layer from Microsoft.
For games, however, users still depend on the Prism emulator. Qualcomm recently said that 90% of Windows games can now be played through emulation. Microsoft, meanwhile, has stated that 85% of the PC Game Pass catalog runs well on Prism, thanks to improved support for the AVX and AVX2 instruction sets. In addition, anti-cheat systems from Epic Games, Tencent, Roblox and many other companies already support Arm, leaving Electronic Arts (EA) as the biggest name that has yet to warm to the platform.
A Promising Future With New Hardware and a Growing Game Library
The first Windows games to run natively on Arm could arrive this year, after Microsoft recently released a Windows Arm compiler. Major game development tools such as Unreal Engine and Unity already support the instruction set, lowering the technical barrier for game developers.
Qualcomm has promised improved gaming performance on Snapdragon processors compared with Intel and AMD mobile chips, but the long-awaited entry of Nvidia is what could speed things up considerably. Nvidia's long-rumored Arm chip, codenamed N1X, could power laptops as early as the first quarter of 2026. The chip is expected to include a 20-core CPU with graphics performance that could rival mid-range RTX-series GPUs. Additional variants may follow in the second quarter, along with the next-generation N2 platform, expected to launch in 2027.
Even so, how enthusiastic developers will be about Windows on Arm remains a big question mark. The Xbox app is currently the only major game launcher with native Arm support. By contrast, platforms like Steam were quick to embrace Apple's Arm-based M-series chips. Blockbuster games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin's Creed, Baldur's Gate 3 and Balatro all support Apple Silicon, but developers have yet to publicly commit to the same level of support for Windows on Arm.
