Microsoft’s new Clarity Boost feature for Xbox Cloud Gaming (aka xCloud) is intended to make your cloud gaming streams a little bit less fuzzy, but it will only be available on the company’s Edge browser.
Clarity Boost “uses a set of client-side scaling improvements to improve the visual quality of the video stream,” Microsoft’s Milena Gonzalez said in a blog post. I tried Clarity Boost in a few games, and I felt that it made a noticeable difference. Games were generally less blurry, and many smaller details like leaves and bricks looked much sharper than they do with Clarity Boost off. It doesn’t dramatically change the way games look, in my opinion, but if you want xCloud games to be a little more clear, I’d recommend flipping Clarity Boost on.
Here are a few comparisons I put together to show you the differences. The first two are from Forza Horizon 5:
<div class="c-imageslider" data-cid="apps/imageslider-1638229390_5470_1833116" data-cdata="{"caption":"
Check out the sharper grass and foliage in Forza Horizon 5
.","image_left":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23051254/Screen_Shot_2021_11_29_at_2.22.38_PM.png","network":"verge","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":null,"focal_area":{"top_left_x":0,"top_left_y":0,"bottom_right_x":1578,"bottom_right_y":886},"bounds":[0,0,1578,886],"uploaded_size":{"width":1578,"height":886},"focal_point":null,"asset_id":23051254,"asset_credit":null,"alt_text":""},"image_right":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23051255/Screen_Shot_2021_11_29_at_2.22.46_PM.png","network":"verge","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":null,"focal_area":{"top_left_x":0,"top_left_y":0,"bottom_right_x":1578,"bottom_right_y":886},"bounds":[0,0,1578,886],"uploaded_size":{"width":1578,"height":886},"focal_point":null,"asset_id":23051255,"asset_credit":null,"alt_text":""},"credit":null}”>
Check out the sharper grass and foliage in Forza Horizon 5.
<div class="c-imageslider" data-cid="apps/imageslider-1638229390_3329_1833117" data-cdata="{"caption":"
With Clarity Boost on, the bricks are less blurry.","image_left":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23051260/Screen_Shot_2021_11_29_at_2.23.50_PM.png","network":"verge","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":null,"focal_area":{"top_left_x":0,"top_left_y":0,"bottom_right_x":1578,"bottom_right_y":886},"bounds":[0,0,1578,886],"uploaded_size":{"width":1578,"height":886},"focal_point":null,"asset_id":23051260,"asset_credit":null,"alt_text":""},"image_right":{"ratio":"*","original_url":"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23051261/Screen_Shot_2021_11_29_at_2.23.57_PM.png","network":"verge","bgcolor":"white","pinterest_enabled":false,"caption":null,"credit":null,"focal_area":{"top_left_x":0,"top_left_y":0,"bottom_right_x":1576,"bottom_right_y":886},"bounds":[0,0,1576,886],"uploaded_size":{"width":1576,"height":886},"focal_point":null,"asset_id":23051261,"asset_credit":null,"alt_text":""},"credit":null}”>
With Clarity Boost on, the bricks are less blurry.
