Xbox Game Pass for PC
Microsoft are gearing up to own the next generation of gaming consoles, and moving in the right direction, they're linking up with something that's in their heritage and that's PC gaming. Bringing Xbox Game Pass to PC is just another step towards giving the gamer's more of what they want, and that's variety in where they can game with what they have at their disposal. As an avid PC gamer and a lover of consoles, this is a movement that will surely make me look longingly into the eyes of Microsoft in the generations to come. Check out below for the official word on Xbox Game Pass for PC: (Lucas Aurelius)
We believe the player should be at the center of their gaming experience and be able to harness the unique benefits
of the devices they choose to play on.
Nowhere
is that belief more important than on the PC. As the creators of
Windows, we have a unique responsibility to
ensure we’re investing in experiences that benefit players everywhere,
while respecting the PC community’s preference for an open, highly
customisable platform.
We’ve not always lived up to our aspiration of keeping gamers at the center of everything we do when it comes to the
experience they’ve had on Windows.
Today I’d like to share three steps we are taking to contribute to the thriving PC gaming ecosystem:
Introducing Xbox Game Pass Designed for PC Players
Two
years ago, we launched Xbox Game Pass on Xbox One, and since then we’ve
seen how valuable a curated library of
high-quality games can be for players and game developers alike. It
offers a great way to discover and play your next favorite game. We
researched whether a similar opportunity exists for PC players and PC
game developers, and we believe that it does. We also
considered the importance of bringing something new and additive to the
PC gaming ecosystem, and we believe that we can. So, we designed a
service specifically for the needs of PC gamers and PC game developers.
It’s called Xbox Game Pass, just like the original,
but it’s a new experience that we are building together with the PC
community.
Xbox
Game Pass for PC will give players unlimited access to a curated
library of over 100 high-quality PC games on
Windows 10, from well-known PC game developers and publishers such as
Bethesda, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Paradox Interactive, SEGA, and
more. And just as we committed on the console, it is our intent to
include new games from Xbox Game Studios in Xbox
Game Pass for PC the same day as their global release, including titles
from newly acquired studios like Obsidian and inXile. We’re working
with over 75 developers and publishers to bring PC content to the
service and we’ll ensure the library remains curated
and full of great PC titles across a variety of genres, with new games
added every month.
Xbox Game Pass for PC members will also receive discounts in the Microsoft Store on Windows of up to 20% on games currently
in the library and up to 10% off related game DLC and add-ons.
We look forward to sharing more at E3, including the great games coming to the library, as well as more details on
when and how you’ll experience the new Xbox Game Pass service for PC gamers.
More Choice in Where to Buy Xbox Game Studios Titles
Enabling
gamers to play together, through cross-platform play and cross-network
play across Windows 10 PCs and console,
is vitally important. Building communities across all of those players,
regardless of the store or platform they’ve chosen (console or PC), is
also vitally important because it helps bring players together, allows
games to find their largest audience and allows
gaming to deliver its true potential of uniting people around the power
of play.
With that in mind, our intent is to make our Xbox Game Studios PC games available in multiple stores, including our
own Microsoft Store on Windows, at their launch. We believe you should have choice in where you buy your PC games.
In March, we announced that
Halo: The Master Chief Collection will come to PC later this
year, launching on Steam in addition to the Microsoft Store on Windows.
We will continue to add to the more than 20 Xbox Game Studios titles on
Steam, starting with
Gears 5 and all Age of Empires I, II & III: Definitive Editions.
We know millions of PC gamers trust Steam as a great source to buy PC
games and we’ve heard the feedback that PC gamers would like choice. We
also know that there are other stores
on PC, and we are working to enable more choice in which store you can
find our Xbox Game Studios titles in the future.
We
want to bring players together to create a shared player community
regardless of where they play, so it’s our intent
that new Xbox Game Studios titles include features such as voice and
text chat, LFG, friends lists and cross-play across PC and console. On
Windows 10 you’ll find this functionality in
the Xbox Game Bar,
which we’ll continue to evolve and expand.
Supporting Win32 Games on Windows 10
We
want creators to be inspired to bring their best content to Windows 10,
and we want Windows 10 to be the place where
gamers come to discover their next favorite PC game. We recognise that
Win32 is the app format that game developers love to use and gamers love
to play, so we are excited to share that we will be enabling full
support for native Win32 games to the Microsoft
Store on Windows. This will unlock more options for developers and
gamers alike, allowing for the customisation and control they’ve come to
expect from the open Windows gaming ecosystem.
When
I think about the role we play as a company to support and evolve
gaming on Windows, it’s critical that we make
decisions that reinforce the open nature of the PC, focusing on how
best to unite players on all devices around the games they love. That
philosophy will guide us as we introduce new ways to discover and play
games on Windows.
These
are just a few of our steps in a journey to contribute to gaming on
Windows 10. We know that PC gamers want to
see games, so I hope you’ll join us at our annual Xbox E3 2019 Briefing
on Sunday, June 9 to hear more, including the amazing lineup of new
games and offers coming to PC players.
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The Aussie Gamers Experience
31st May 2019