Microsoft has released massive amount of information about its upcoming Windows 8 operating system, but the most important detail, at least for PC gamers, is the fact that the company's Xbox Live online service, currently available just on the Xbox 360 console, will be coming to computers with the new OS.
Microsoft's gaming efforts have resulted in huge success stories, like its Xbox 360 which is now dominating its opposition in North America, but also some lackluster failures, like its Games for Windows Live initiative, that tried to bring a system like Xbox Live to computer games.
Now, after practically admitting that GFWL wasn't going anywhere and merging it into the Xbox.com portal, Microsoft has confirmed that the next step in its PC gaming strategy is to actually bring Xbox Live on the PC, with the help of the new
Windows 8 operating system.
During its BUILD conference yesterday, the North American corporation announced lots of new things about Windows 8, but its full-pledged Xbox Live integration is probably the most important thing if you're a PC gamer.
"We are very excited about Xbox Live coming to Windows 8," said Xbox Community Manager Larry Hryb. "Xbox Live brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices. Bringing Xbox Live to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy."
"At BUILD we are showing that it is easy for developers to create games for Windows 8 that take advantage of the power of Xbox Live. We have much more detail to share about the capabilities of Xbox Live on Windows and look forward to the opportunity to do so in the near future."
A screenshot of Xbox Live running on Windows 8 can be found above, showcasing the new
dashboard interface that's going to be released later this year for the console, and it definitely seems that Microsoft wants PC gamers to forget about the failed Games for Windows Live initiative and focus on a service that's already proved to be extremely popular on the Xbox 360.
Expect more details about the functionality of Xbox Live on the PC soon enough.
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