Phil Spencer has said he ‘embraces the scepticism’ people have when Microsoft is talking about PC gaming on Windows, and it’s why he’s avoiding ”fancy videos,” relying instead on releasing SDKs to studios.
They’re ”fully committed to expanding” across all Windows 10 devices, which is why the new unified Store is so powerful. It allows Xbox developers to ”seamlessly move from Xbox to PC”.
”This will sound funny, but I embrace the scepticism people might have because of Games For Windows – Live. It’s in our past, and wasn’t a fleshed-out programme fully supported by the Xbox team; it was another thing that was separate,” Phil Spencer told Gamesradar.
Games for Windows LIVE was, basically, a train-wreck for the PC gaming market. Initially it dared to bring its Gold subscription model to Windows where you’d have to pay monthly in order to enjoy multiplayer. Unless it’s an MMO or people enjoy the comfort of a dedicated server host, no one pays to play PC titles online. GFWL broke a golden rule, and they abandoned it.
”But if you bet on us for Games For Windows – Live, I can understand somebody saying, “Hey, you’re going to have to earn my trust back.” And that’s why when I stand there talking about it, I’m not showing any fancy videos, I’m not trying to pizzazz you with anything other than, “Here’s what we are; here’s what we’re trying to do. And the SDKs are available now.””
Does the software giant believe the new Windows 10 Store will challenge Steam?
”I think Steam’s great, and they have a lot of my money – a large part of my games library is in Steam. Steam is very much a gamer’s store, but I think our Windows Store will start off with a diversity of content like the App Store or Google Play,” continued Spencer.
”I think there are enough gaming customers to go round, and I don’t expect anybody’s going to delete their Steam account when they buy a game in the Windows Store and vice versa.” Steam accounts today have had thousands poured into them - no one is deleting their Steam account.
”If you’re an Xbox developer, there are some tools that we’re providing that allow you to seamlessly move from Xbox to PC – Xbox Live and the Universal App Platform will be helpful for those guys. I love what Steam is doing – Valve is an innovative company, and I don’t think the world’s going to dissolve down to one retailer, either on the high street or digitally.”
Windows 10 launches later this year and in a first ever for Microsoft, an upgrade to the latest OS is entirely free for the first year of its launch if you’re a Windows 7 or 8/8.1 user, and that includes illegitimate copies. The company is giving serious thought to going free with Windows.
Time will tell if Microsoft is really serious this time about getting back into PC gaming.
