After its release, AMD executives mused that Microsoft would likely never release DirectX 12, then bam! Microsoft announced DirectX 12, which basically apes all of Mantle’s key features on a far wider range of hardware. Mantle did all of this long before Windows 10 was announced.

You’re right: DirectX 12 sounds a lot like AMD’s now-defunct Mantle API for Radeon graphics processors. If you’re the technical type, check out the DirectX 12 developer blog for more details about DirectX 12 in general, starting with the DirectX 12 announcement post. DirectX 12 lets developers target its high-level APIs, which then handle all the nitty-gritty hardware compatibility details in the background. The sheer volume of available components in the PC ecosystem is staggering, and that’s before you even get into the intricacies of the potential system combinations with all those parts. Long answer: The reason DirectX prevailed over the proprietary graphics API wars of yesteryear is its high level of hardware abstraction. Short answer: It can make your PC games faster, if developers decide to tap into DirectX 12 to its fullest. Good thing Windows 10’s free for most people. If your device runs Windows 10, it runs DirectX 12.įun fact: The name “Xbox” derives from “ DirectX Box.” Not-so-fun fact: Microsoft hasn’t announced plans to bring DirectX 12 to prior versions of Windows, so it looks like you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 10 to get it. If your device runs Windows 10, it runs DirectX 12, basically.

DirectX is mostly associated with Windows, but because Microsoft’s recent “Windows everywhere” push will spread Windows 10’s core bits to virtually every Microsoft platform, DirectX 12 will appear on Windows 10 computers and tablets, Windows 10 Mobile phones, and even the Xbox One in due time.

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