14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has been focused on the launch of the Xbox One for the past few months, but the company says that it is planning to have some more announcements linked to its PC gaming business in the coming months, which might include the reveal of a replacement for Games for Windows Live.
Phil Spencer, the leader of the Microsoft Studios, is quoted by Polygon as saying that Microsoft has a long-term plan, which includes new ideas and new technology, but he cannot deliver any specific details at the moment.
The executive praises the work that Valve has done on behalf of the PC gaming community in the past few years and says that his company has plans to show its fundamental commitment to the platform.
Spencer explains that, “We’ve got to have this message out in a thoughtful way months and not anything more than that. It’s in the real near term. This is something that we’re working on now… because we want to be clear on it.”
Microsoft has focused on Games for Windows Live during the past few years, but the service has never received solid support from the developers and many more dropped it after the company posted an official notice that it would be eliminated in July 2014, which it then retracted.
The executive adds, “You will get a clear answer from us very soon. We have a longer term plan for multiplayer gaming and marketplace on Windows. We understand what we have today in market … isn’t great.”
Apparently, Microsoft is currently evaluating the situations and is having an internal conversation about how it will support PC games in the future.
It’s unclear whether the company wants the full suite of services that it has launched on the Xbox One to be integrated on the PC or if it plans to create no connection between the two platforms.
Any GFWL replacement will have to compete with Steam, Gamersgate, Origin and Green Man Gaming.
Microsoft has already suggested that it might introduce paid alphas to its next-gen devices in the coming months in order to help indie titles, which sounds very similar to what Valve is already doing on Steam via Early Access.
At the moment, the Xbox One is behind the rival PlayStation 4 from Sony in terms of sales, with the latest update from the company coming in January, when it passed the 3 million units in sales mark.