If you’re streaming your gameplay to a group of buddies and/or family, there’s a brand-new choice in the area: Microsoft Teams. Yes, you check out that. Microsoft has actually added a new combination for the Xbox Game Bar that permits livestreaming to the company’s business-focused chat and video-calling app.
As reported by The Verge, a new “Microsoft Teams Play Together” widget allows the integration in Windows. As soon as you install it by means of the Microsoft Store app, you can share your desktop to Teams, permitting your friends to see your video game. You can also sign up with video calls while playing, which lets you see loved ones as an overlay on your video game. As much as 20 people can be in a call at one time.
As you might recall, rumors circulated back in 2021 about Microsoft potentially getting Discord, however a buyout never occurred. Instead, it appears Microsoft crafted its own take on Discord’s most popular features.
However sadly for Microsoft, the preliminary launch appears to disappoint rival services– when The Verge experimented with the brand-new Teams integration, the frame rates performed at 30fps or lower. Twitch caps at 1080p/60fps, YouTube permits 4K/60fps, and though Discord’s totally free streaming is limited to 720p/30fps, its paid Nitro subscribers can go up to 4K/60fps. The video overlay feature likewise did not seem to work correctly.
The combination doesn’t currently enable streaming from simply specific apps, either. Your whole desktop (or at least, an entire display, if you have more than one display) gets sent for everybody to see. You’ll have to beware to avoid inadvertently revealing what you’ve got open in your windows, if it’s an issue.
Microsoft may be dealing with an uphill fight in wooing players and their pals from Discord and other services. While tech giants keep adding customer features to their service apps, those of us in the trenches are generally under strict command by IT departments to never ever mix the 2 functions.
