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Help gaming on Windows and play State of Decay!

We’re excited to bring technology tailor-made for gaming to Windows. Help us validate these systems work as expected, and play State of Decay for free (limited time only!). Just tell us about any problems you encounter with installing and launching the game. You’ll need to have a PC on a version of Windows 10 from the Windows Insider program that is 18329 or higher in order to participate in this playtest – see instructions for details. 

Note: we only have a small number of available slots currently, so don’t wait too long to sign up. But if you don’t get in this time, don’t worry, we’ll be expanding over the next few weeks so you’ll have more chances. Thanks for making Windows gaming better! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: BattleEye software (used by Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and other popular games) does not work correctly with builds flighted to the Windows Insider Fast ring since December. If you have a machine that is not already enrolled in Windows Insider Fast, and you play games that use BattleEye software, we recommend you do not join Windows Insider Fast on that personal computer. We are working closely with BattleEye to address this and will share more soon. 

Instructions 

  1. Go to Start -> Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Insider program to enroll in the Windows Insider Fast flight ring.  
  2. Restart your machine when prompted. 
  3. Go to Start -> Settings -> Update & Security and click “Check for Updates”. You will be updated to 18329 or later. 
  4. If you have an Xbox Live Gamertag (you most likely have one already if you are reading this!), go to step 2 below. If you don’t have a Gamertag, use your Microsoft Account (MSA) to log into https://account.xbox.com and create an Xbox account. Once completed, you will see your Gamertag in the top right of the page. 
  5. Install the Xbox Insider Hub app on the PC you’ll be flighting on (link opens in Store app). 
  6. Sign in to the Xbox Insider Hub with your Gamertag. 
  7. Select Insider Content in the upper left.  
  8. Select State of Decay: Year One.  (Note:  your PC needs to be on Windows 10 version 18329 or higher to see this) 
  9. Click Join. 
  10. If not redirected, click the Show in store button to launch the Store app. 
  11. Install the State of Decay test game to your machine from the Store app 
  12. Launch State of Decay and try it out! NOTE: State of Decay is rated M for Mature. 
    • As part of the game launch, you’ll be prompted to install DirectX. This is for testing purposes, so go ahead and do the install, and the game will launch afterwards. 
  13.  If you find any issues with the install, or if the game fails to launch, please file a Windows Feedback Hub bug under the Microsoft Store category (pick Download or Install depending on your issue), and include WindowsGamingFeedback in the title. 

Known issues 

  • BattleEye software (used by Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and other popular games) does not work correctly with builds flighted to the Windows Insider Fast ring since December. If you have a machine that is not already enrolled in Windows Insider Fast, and you play games that use BattleEye software, we recommend you don’t join Windows Insider Fast on that PC. 
  • There is an intro video that plays at the start of the State of Decay test game which is squeezed into a thin line on left side of screen. Please ignore this issue; the game works fine once the title screen appears. 
  • If you have a Microsoft Account on your machine which is a Child account and have Parental Controls turned on for that account, the State of Decay test game won’t install. We are planning a fix for this in a forthcoming Windows flight. 
  • You can install and run the State of Decay test game in a Virtual Machine (VM) if you aren’t able to test on real hardware; the download and install will work fine, but you will experience slow performance when running the game itself. Note: downloading and installing is still very helpful to find issues!