Microsoft: “We Will Ship Games on Steam Again”

Throughout Microsoft’s E3 presentation this year, they really embraced the idea of Windows 10 gaming and gave it as much coverage as the Xbox One console. This marks a major shift in the company’s attitude towards PC gaming and it looks likely that all future exclusives will coexist on Windows 10 and Xbox. Of course, the Universal Windows Platform isn’t ideal for most PC gamers who prefer to use Steam and have their entire games library within one client. Additionally, the Universal Windows Store can only be accessed by Windows 10 users which seem to contravene Microsoft’s new inclusive policy because many people use older operating systems. Thankfully all is not lost, and Microsoft appears to be open to releasing games on a rival platform. Xbox head Phil Spencer said during Giant Bomb’s E3 livestream, as reported by GameSpot:

“I look at Steam today, it’s on an incredible growth trajectory,”

“It’s a massive force in gaming; a positive force. I think it will be bigger a year from now than it is today. And five years later it will still be bigger again.”

“I look at Valve as an important [independent software vendor] for us on Windows. They are a critical part of gaming’s success on Windows. I don’t think Valve’s hurt by not having our first-party games in their store right now. They’re doing incredible well.

“There’s going to be areas where we cooperate and there’s going to be areas where we compete. The end result is better for gamers. We will ship games on Steam again.”

Phil Spencer also acknowledged the difficult launch of Windows 10 games so far and their intention to ensure each new title performs well upon launch:

“They all haven’t gone swimmingly. Some of them have gone well,” he said of their four UWP Windows 10 releases to date. “Forza 6 Apex did well. Quantum Break wasn’t our best PC release. Killer Instinct did well on PC. Gears of War Ultimate Edition was OK–we definitely learned there.”

Even though Phil Spencer didn’t go into specifics, I have to commend Microsoft for being open to Steam and realising that they will struggle to compete. Whether or not this means they’ll publish their entire Xbox library on Windows at a later date, or just a few specific releases is unknown. However, I’m thrilled by this announcement and would love to see Microsoft work alongside Steam to provide even more games for everyone to enjoy.