It wasn't that long ago that Microsoft acquired Beam, a game-streaming service that would eventually become Mixer. Microsoft seemingly had big plans for gaming and game streaming, and soon after the acquisition, Windows 10 users got the ability to stream games from their PC to the service using the Xbox Game Bar, aiming to bring basic streaming capabilities to anyone with Windows 10.
While the idea was good, it seems that streamers may not be all that interested in the relatively basic functionality offered by Windows 10, as the company has decided to remove it. As noted by Windows Central, the ability to stream gameplay to Mixer was removed from the Game Bar with the recent update that added an FPS counter and achievement overlay. Instead, Microsoft is directing users to install dedicated streaming apps such as OBS or XSplit.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the removal in a statement to Windows Central:
"With continued, great feedback from the community and after careful consideration, we have decided to remove Mixer from Xbox Game Bar to focus on delivering new, more often requested experiences across Mixer, Windows 10 and the Xbox Game Bar. You can broadcast to Mixer from Windows 10 devices using third-party tools such as OBS, Streamlabs, and XSplit and continue to use Xbox Game Bar for screen capture and sharing, controlling your music and audio settings, finding new teammates with Looking for Group (LFG), and chatting with Xbox friends across Xbox console, mobile, and PC – all without leaving your game."
The company has also recently removed some Xbox Tournament features from the Game Bar, but has invested in other features such as Spotify integrations and a meme maker tool that lets users add captions to images. With dedicated streaming apps offering a wider feature set, it makes sense that not many users cared about the native capability in Windows 10 - though some may have appreciated it in a pinch.
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