This improvement to typing with an Xbox controller is part of the many changes Microsoft is making to Windows for handheld gaming PCs. Microsoft is working on combining the best parts of Windows and Xbox together, while addressing basic needs like being able to navigate with a controller.
Microsoft has also made the Game Bar in Windows more handheld-friendly, thanks to a compact mode for smaller screens. The main Xbox app for PC was also updated with controller improvements last year to make it easier to navigate with just a controller.
The gamepad keyboard first went into beta testing in September and is now available in the Release Preview version of Windows 11, meaning it will be available to all Windows 11 users in the coming weeks and to those who opt into the latest non-security updates in a matter of days.
Kind of crazy how long it has taken them to get this feature when SteamOS and the likes have had it for at least 3 years at this point.
I find it even more strange that they couldn’t get the Xbox interface onto mainline Windows to make it more controller friendly.
Microsoft is effectively incapable of doing something like this, the company is a dysfunctional black hole that eats talent and money and produces barely anything of use.
Hey, that’s not fair. They added an intrusive feature that offers to “create an event” every fucking time I copy a date in Excel. I’m sure that’s useful to someone. /s
The good old 360 days of quickly opening the message menu to flame someone ingame ,but then taking 20 years to type out all the letters
I had a friend that had the keyboard controller attachment specifically for this purpose
