Microsoft has traditionally had a rocky relationship with PC gamers due to the horrendous Games for Windows Live DRM and focus on console exclusives. Over the last decade, the company has made numerous promises to adopt a more PC-friendly attitude and failed to deliver. This rightfully creates a great deal of skepticism because of the lack of Xbox IPs like Halo and Forza on the PC platform. Thankfully, Microsoft’s new management has woken up to the incredible rise of PC gaming and decided to adopt a more unified strategy. This means, games can launch on mobile, PC and Xbox with interplay via the Windows 10 operating system. Microsoft has hinted at bringing more Xbox games to PC, but they’ve really kept their main titles on Xbox to please the console demographic.
During a media event last week, the head of Xbox Phil Spencer outlined the company’s new attitude towards PC gaming and said:
“We are 100 percent committed to the PC-gaming space,”
“That is a long-term commitment from us.”
He also acknowledged Microsoft’s poor reputation and admitted:
“We know we have a lot to prove,”
Even more astounding, The Seattle Times leaked information about an upcoming announcement from Microsoft regarding the Forza series. According to this source, Microsoft will launch a free-to-play version of Forza Motorsport 6 on the Windows Store this spring. The new game entitled, Forza Motorsport 6: Apex will probably adopt optional microtransactions to acquire money faster so you can purchase vehicles in a quick manner. I really hope Microsoft doesn’t try to charge for individual circuits though and offer a barebones package. I absolutely adore the Forza series and it’s the main reason why I purchased an Xbox 360 back in the day. However, the free-to-play aspect does bother me somewhat, and I worry about the game’s business model.
A greater concern is, Microsoft thinks they can port over free-to-play versions of their most popular franchises. Hopefully, this isn’t the case because it wouldn’t be a good move to make PC gamers trust them.
