Unlike other console manufacturers such as Sony Interactive Entertainment and Nintendo, Microsoft have an edge in some aspects. The biggest being that not only do they have the Xbox console platform which now spans four generations worth of games, but also the Windows operating system which undoubtedly has the largest install base of any OS. While this does come with its burdens in terms of required resources, it also allows a greater potential for interoperability between the platforms – as seen through, for example, the Xbox Game Pass supporting both consoles and PC.
This week, Head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, shared a bit of their vision as Microsoft continues their PC Gaming Journey throughout the year and below. You can read the full article by clicking HERE, but some highlights and key take-aways can be found below.
1Building Communities Around Games, Not Devices
We know many of you play across more than just your PC, including on Xbox and mobile. That’s why we’re excited to announce Halo Infinite will support multiplayer cross-play and cross-progression when it releases later this year. That means if you’re playing on PC, you can play with your friends on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. It also means that your multiplayer customization and progress will follow you across all platforms.
We have been working closely with the PC community to ensure that Halo Infinite offers a premier PC experience, including highly desired features such as support for ultrawide and super ultrawide screens, triple keybinds, a wide variety of advanced graphics options and more. We want to make sure that Halo is serving the PC community.
2Helping Developers Deliver Exceptional Experiences
Game developers are at the heart of bringing great games to our players, and we want them to find success on our platforms. That’s why today we’re announcing that we’re updating our Microsoft Store terms for PC game developers. As part of our commitment to empower every PC game creator to achieve more, starting on August 1 the developer share of Microsoft Store PC games sales net revenue will increase to 88%, from 70%. A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so.
We’re proud to empower all developers with the platform and services they need to execute their vision and provide exceptional experiences on PC. We introduced DirectX 12 Ultimate to both Xbox Series X|S and PC; coupled with the newly announced DirectX 12 Agility SDK, this enables incredible graphics experiences, like ray tracing, for an even larger set of PC gamers. We’re taking the work we did with our Auto HDR technology on Xbox to PC gamers, which is currently being tested with over 1,000 DirectX-based games. We’re also bringing DirectStorage technology on Xbox to PC, which means vastly reduced load times and more expansive and detailed virtual worlds.
3The Future of PC Gaming is Brighter than Ever
We know that we still have a lot of work to do, but based on the response from both PC gamers and PC game developers, we think that we’re headed in the right direction for this community with the investments we’re making.
We have never been in a better position as an organization to deliver for PC gamers, with Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda developing content for both PC and Xbox, the Windows and DirectX teams creating technologies that empower developers and provide PC players with features that specifically take advantage of PC hardware, Xbox Game Pass for PC featuring games for every type of PC gamer with Xbox Game Studio games coming on day one, and the ongoing evolution of the Xbox app and Xbox Game Bar.
We’ll continue listening to the community to ensure we’re delivering on our promises, and respecting how players choose to play. This is especially true as we head into the second half of 2021, when our work across the entire PC ecosystem has the potential to come together in a way that propels the industry forward and brings great games to more gamers around the world.
