Technology

Microsoft debuts DirectStorage 1.4 at GDC 2026, with Zstandard compression and GACL — update promises developers improved compression ratios, faster loading, and more

Source

Tom's Hardware

Published

Mar 13, 2026

TL;DR

AI Generated

Microsoft unveiled DirectStorage 1.4 at GDC 2026, featuring Zstandard compression and the Game Asset Conditioning Library (GACL) to enhance compression ratios and loading speed for developers. Zstandard, a compression algorithm from Meta (formerly Facebook), is integrated for efficient data compression and decompression. DirectStorage 1.4 supports Zstd-compressed assets on both CPU and GPU paths, allowing flexibility for developers. The update also introduces global D3D12 CreatorID support to optimize GPU workload scheduling. Despite initial challenges, DirectStorage continues to evolve, offering potential benefits for future game titles with improved compression efficiency and asset streaming capabilities.

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Jensen Huang snubbed by White House for President Trump’s China state visit — Nvidia CEO not on roster, which includes Apple's Tim Cook and Elon Musk

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Microsoft debuts DirectStorage 1.4 at GDC 2026, with Zstandard compression and GACL — update promises developers improved compression ratios, faster loading, and more

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Microsoft debuts DirectStorage 1.4 at GDC 2026, with Zstandard compression and GACL — update promises developers improved compression ratios, faster loading, and more

TL;DR

Similar Articles

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Amazon employees admit to using AI unnecessarily to pump up internal usage scores — workers complain of intense pressure to use AI tools

Compromised Mistral AI and TanStack packages may have exposed GitHub, cloud and CI/CD credentials in 'mini Shai Hulud' malware infection — supply-chain campaign spreads across npm and AI developer ecosystems like wildfire

Dell SupportAssist update is crashing PCs with constant blue screens and reboot loops — the boot service built for system recovery is the culprit of unending instability