Windows Live Messenger 2011 Evolves with Games Tab

In less than two months after its release, Microsoft is enhancing the experiences available through Windows Live Messenger 2011.

The Wave 4 iteration of the company’s instant messaging client has evolved with the introduction of Games Tab, designed to kick up a notch the social and casual gaming capabilities of Messenger.

According to Piero Sierra, Group Program Manager, Windows Live Messenger, the Games Tab is scheduled to go live later today, and will be accessible via the Social and MSN tabs when running the IM client in full view.

“The games tab centralizes all your gaming activity on Messenger in one view, where you can connect to your Facebook and Messenger friends and add to your casual gaming with social elements like leaderboards, friend feeds, and game updates.

“Of course, your privacy is important to us, so we made sure that you can control what and how you share from within the gaming experience.

“You can invite friends to play with you side-by-side within the conversation window, or you can play solo, and then challenge your friends afterwards when you post your high score,” Sierra added.

And Microsoft is right on the money when it says that the new gaming experiences possible with Windows Live Messenger 2011 span both casual gaming and social gaming.

Users get to connect with friends and play games, but also see what their friends’ favorite titles, and even have a video chat while playing.

New games will be available from publishers such as iWin, PopCap, Arkadium, GameHouse, and Microsoft Game Studios.

The Gaming Tab in Windows Live Messenger 2011 will be offered to customers in US, UK, France, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey today.

The promise from the software giant is that additional markets will be added by the end of this year.

But while the Game Tab UI will be localized in all markets, the actual games will only be available in English.

“Games vary slightly by market, but we’re making available a selection of more than 35 new free-to-play games, in addition to the tried-and-true favorites you could play in Messenger already,” Sierra added.

“We’ve lined up some great partnerships to bring you a diverse mix of puzzle games, hidden object games, card and board games, and some fun physics games that are almost too unique to classify.

“And there will be more to come – as our partners release new games, we plan to roll them out to you weekly.

“So, check your Messenger games tab often for the latest and greatest games to play while video chatting with your friends and family.”

You can download the features of the Windows Live Essentials suite here:

Windows Live Family Safety
Windows Live Mesh
Windows Live Photo Gallery
Windows Live Movie Maker
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Writer
Windows Live Mail
The Bing Bar
Silverlight
Outlook Connector Pack