Microsoft has integrated Microsoft Teams with the Xbox Game Bar, allowing users to stream their gameplay in real-time to friends over Teams video calls. Up to 20 people can join a call to watch and chat together while gaming. The viewer can see both the game and overlaid video of friends. However, streaming performance is currently limited to 30fps or less, which is not ideal for viewing high-fidelity PC games. Viewers also cannot yet see overlaid video during gameplay. While this new feature aims to compete with Discord for social gaming, the integration still needs improvements to provide a comparable experience. Overall, Microsoft is trying to grow Teams communities and social features to rival other platforms like Discord.
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The new “Microsoft Teams Play Together” widget is available for the Xbox Game Bar and supports streaming your entire desktop over Teams and also the ability to join video calls to see friends overlaid on top of games.
Microsoft describes the new Game Bar integration for Teams as “a place to hang out while watching and playing games,” which sounds a lot like what people use Discord for.
You’ll see friends overlaid on top of a game, and up to 20 people can join a call at any one time.
I wasn’t able to see video participants overlaid on top of the game during my testing either, so that feature might not be working fully just yet.
The free version of Microsoft Teams for Windows 11 got Discord-like communities in June.
These are Microsoft’s answer to what you might find on Facebook or how people use apps like Discord, WhatsApp, and Reddit to organize groups.