Windows 10: How Xbox invests in Windows 10 PC gaming ecosystem in 2021 and beyond

Brink · May 4, 2021

Weâve talked often about our âplayer-firstâ approach to gaming over the last few years. In the past, that may have meant different things to different people, especially for those who identified strongly with being a console gamer, a PC gamer, or a mobile gamer. If you were to walk the (virtual) halls at Xbox today, I think youâd find that to us, the idea of the âplayerâ has come to mean someone who plays many kinds of games on many different devices. PC gaming is part of this; âplayer firstâ has to apply for PC, as well, and to that end weâve been making investments across the PC gaming ecosystem to ensure that PC is a key part of how people can play games.

Building Communities Around Games, Not Devices

A big part of our role as a platform holder and game publisher is to connect players with games no matter where they play. Over the last 18 months weâve launched games on PC like Age of Empires II and III DE, Gears Tactics, Wasteland 3, Minecraft Dungeons, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, many of which topped the Steam charts at launch. Weâre looking forward to delivering more PC content, including Age of Empires IV, later this year. Whether they are new genres for established franchises, the next iteration of a classic favorite or the evolution of a storied PC brand, weâre making games that PC gamers love to play.

We know many of you play across more than just your PC, including on Xbox and mobile. Thatâs why weâre excited to announce Halo Infinite will support multiplayer cross-play and cross-progression when it releases later this year. That means if youâre 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.

Weâre also using the cloud to make console gaming accessible on even more PCs. While not meant to replace native PC gaming, Xbox Cloud Gaming allows Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play over 100 console games on a wide range of computers, from lower-spec, entry-level machines to older devices that otherwise couldnât handle games that require more power.

Creating Experiences Tailored to PC Gamers

We believe itâs important that players have a choice in where they purchase games and we want to make accessing content even easier. We know that the PC community uses multiple storefronts, which is why we also brought Sea of Thieves, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Age of Empires I, II, and III: Definitive Edition, and Forza Horizon 4 to Steam.

There are also millions of people opting to use their Xbox Game Pass membership to play. We launched Halo: The Master Chief Collection at the end of 2019 on the PC as part of Xbox Game Pass for PC; since then, over 10 million players have played it, with the vast majority of them being brand new to the franchise. Weâre encouraged by the communityâs response, and we continue to bring more games from publishers and developers across the industry into the Xbox Game Pass for PC library. Weâre only four months into 2021, and weâve already added 100 titles, including award-winning Bethesda games and brand new PC games, and we partnered with Electronic Arts to make EA Play a part of Xbox Game Pass for PC and Ultimate memberships at no additional cost. More than 50 leading device partners, including Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, MSI and Razer, are offering Xbox Game Pass for PC with qualifying devices, giving gamers around the world access to the library.

We regularly work on features and functionality that improves and/or allows for a more customized experience like Xbox Game Bar. Weâre also bringing more quality-of-life improvements to PC gamers, including improved install reliability and faster download speeds over the next few months. We look forward to sharing more details on that soon.

Helping 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. Thatâs why today weâre announcing that weâre 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. You can read more about this new revenue share and our work with developers from CVP, Head of Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem Sarah Bond.

We empower developers to decide how to deliver their work based on their creative vision. Developing for PC was a priority for Microsoft Flight Simulator last year, using the help of Azure AI, machine learning, Azure Cognitive Services, and Bing Maps to bring the entire planet to life. . Weâre also looking forward to releasing Age of Empires IV this fall, which modernizes the iconic RTS franchise for new and returning players with the first all-new title in the last 10 years. Weâre building on our history in PC gaming with the addition of inXile entertainment, Obsidian and Bethesda to our development teams â bringing their world-class talent and heritage into the Xbox team.

Weâre 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. Weâre 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. Weâre also bringing DirectStorage technology on Xbox to PC, which means vastly reduced load times and more expansive and detailed virtual worlds.

The 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 weâre headed in the right direction for this community with the investments weâre 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. Weâll continue listening to the community to ensure weâre 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.

Source: Continuing Our PC Gaming Journey in 2021 and Beyond - Xbox Wire

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Brink · May 4, 2021

How Xbox invests in Windows 10 PC gaming ecosystem in 2021 and beyond

We’ve talked often about our “player-first” approach to gaming over the last few years. In the past, that may have meant different things to different people, especially for those who identified strongly with being a console gamer, a PC gamer, or a mobile gamer. If you were to walk the (virtual) halls at Xbox today, I think you’d find that to us, the idea of the “player” has come to mean someone who plays many kinds of games on many different devices. PC gaming is part of this; “player first” has to apply for PC, as well, and to that end we’ve been making investments across the PC gaming ecosystem to ensure that PC is a key part of how people can play games.

Building Communities Around Games, Not Devices

A big part of our role as a platform holder and game publisher is to connect players with games no matter where they play. Over the last 18 months we’ve launched games on PC like Age of Empires II and III DE, Gears Tactics, Wasteland 3, Minecraft Dungeons, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, many of which topped the Steam charts at launch. We’re looking forward to delivering more PC content, including Age of Empires IV, later this year. Whether they are new genres for established franchises, the next iteration of a classic favorite or the evolution of a storied PC brand, we’re making games that PC gamers love to play.

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.

We’re also using the cloud to make console gaming accessible on even more PCs. While not meant to replace native PC gaming, Xbox Cloud Gaming allows Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play over 100 console games on a wide range of computers, from lower-spec, entry-level machines to older devices that otherwise couldn’t handle games that require more power.

Creating Experiences Tailored to PC Gamers

We believe it’s important that players have a choice in where they purchase games and we want to make accessing content even easier. We know that the PC community uses multiple storefronts, which is why we also brought Sea of Thieves, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Age of Empires I, II, and III: Definitive Edition, and Forza Horizon 4 to Steam.

There are also millions of people opting to use their Xbox Game Pass membership to play. We launched Halo: The Master Chief Collection at the end of 2019 on the PC as part of Xbox Game Pass for PC; since then, over 10 million players have played it, with the vast majority of them being brand new to the franchise. We’re encouraged by the community’s response, and we continue to bring more games from publishers and developers across the industry into the Xbox Game Pass for PC library. We’re only four months into 2021, and we’ve already added 100 titles, including award-winning Bethesda games and brand new PC games, and we partnered with Electronic Arts to make EA Play a part of Xbox Game Pass for PC and Ultimate memberships at no additional cost. More than 50 leading device partners, including Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, MSI and Razer, are offering Xbox Game Pass for PC with qualifying devices, giving gamers around the world access to the library.

We regularly work on features and functionality that improves and/or allows for a more customized experience like Xbox Game Bar. We’re also bringing more quality-of-life improvements to PC gamers, including improved install reliability and faster download speeds over the next few months. We look forward to sharing more details on that soon.

Helping 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. You can read more about this new revenue share and our work with developers from CVP, Head of Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem Sarah Bond.

We empower developers to decide how to deliver their work based on their creative vision. Developing for PC was a priority for Microsoft Flight Simulator last year, using the help of Azure AI, machine learning, Azure Cognitive Services, and Bing Maps to bring the entire planet to life. . We’re also looking forward to releasing Age of Empires IV this fall, which modernizes the iconic RTS franchise for new and returning players with the first all-new title in the last 10 years. We’re building on our history in PC gaming with the addition of inXile entertainment, Obsidian and Bethesda to our development teams – bringing their world-class talent and heritage into the Xbox team.

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.

The 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.
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Source: Continuing Our PC Gaming Journey in 2021 and Beyond - Xbox Wire

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Brink · May 4, 2021

Xbox Cloud Gaming coming to iOS and Windows 10 PC in 2021

Thanks to you, we’ve kicked off a new generation of gaming and can now share more about what comes next in 2021. If the last year has taught us anything about the future, it’s that the joy of play and its power to connect us to family, friends and newly joining members of Xbox is something to be cherished and shared.Your overwhelming response to the launch of Xbox Series X|S has been staggering and heartening at the same time. We can’t wait for everyone who wants to experience gaming on Xbox Series X and Series S to do so and are working with our retail partners to replenish stock as quickly as we can.

As we look at how we define success at the start of a new generation for gaming, we can think of none better than more and more players connecting with their friends and discovering games they love. It’s the billions of hours and over 3,800 different games you played in the last month that is the foundation for our success at Xbox.

You’re also getting the most out of the Xbox Game Pass library – compared to the prior year, in November, Xbox Game Pass monthly engagement more than doubled. We also saw:

Over 1.6 million seamless upgrades delivered to Xbox Series X|S owners with Smart Delivery.

Over 40% of you joining Xbox for the first time are playing on Xbox Series S.

One of the fastest selling Xbox Series X|S markets out of 40+ launch regions, Europe saw record sellouts in a matter of hours across the UK, France and Germany.

During November, Xbox Game Pass members played more of their favorites, including, Destiny 2: Beyond Light, Rainbow Six: Siege, Tetris Effect Connected, and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order with EA Play on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

So, what’s next?

Cloud gaming (beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate coming to iOS and PC in 2021

Expanding Xbox to new players is central to our ambition of helping games and developers find an easy path to the world’s 3 billion gamers. We are doing this by embracing multiple devices and providing a consistent Xbox experience wherever you log in, whether that’s on your Xbox Series X|S, PC, Xbox One, Android device or – starting in Spring 2021 – your Windows PC and iOS device from the cloud.

In Spring 2021, we will take the next step in our journey to reach more players around the world by making cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate available on Windows PCs through the Xbox app and browser, and iOS devices through mobile web browser. By adding over a billion devices as a path to playing in the Xbox ecosystem, we envision a seamless experience for all types of players; whether it’s playing Minecraft Dungeons with your Xbox friends using touch controls on an iPhone, or jumping into a Destiny 2: Beyond Light strike on a Surface Pro when you have a break between meetings.

Whatever screen you choose, we want to make it easy to continue your game and connect with your friends.

Finally, we’ll bring cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to new markets, including Australia, Brazil, Japan and Mexico, where we recently began our limited Project xCloud preview program.

We can’t wait to share more early next year about our cloud gaming ambitions and how you can expect to take your gaming experiences further.

Game creators dream big on Xbox

No matter the year, it’s always about the games. In 2021, creators around the world will tap deeper into the power of Xbox Series X|S and bring a massive variety of content to Xbox players.

From Xbox Game Studios, 2021 will see the Master Chief’s return in Halo Infinite, a new brain-bending odyssey in Psychonauts 2, and some surprises we haven’t announced yet. Your favorite games will also continue to grow with you, with 30 pieces of new content coming to several of our franchises next half, including Forza, Sea of Thieves, Grounded and much more. Looking further ahead, you will also hear more from teams across Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda.

Next year we also plan to officially welcome the Bethesda team, creator of critically acclaimed and best-selling gaming franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Doom, to the Xbox family. With their help, Xbox will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams in 2021, all forging a future of games fit for a world of different players.

We anticipate this to be the most exciting generation yet for developers and players alike, with something for every kind of gamer. While we have so much more in store, both from our talented partners and our creative teams at Microsoft, here’s a small taste of new games that have been announced as coming to Xbox in 2021, including those that will also be playable with Xbox Game Pass:

Announced Titles Coming to Xbox

CrossfireX

12 Minutes (console launch exclusive)

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Far Cry 6

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Quarantine

Chorus

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story

Scarlet Nexus

Balan Wonderworld

Resident Evil Village

The Artful Escape

Echo Generation

Songs of Iron

Tunic

Sable

Bright Memory Infinite

Way to the Woods

Echo Generation

Outriders

Coming to Xbox with Xbox Game Pass

Halo Infinite

Psychonauts 2

The Ascent

The Medium (console launch exclusive)

The Gunk (console launch exclusive)

Warhammer 40K: Darktide (console launch exclusive)

Exomecha (console launch exclusive)

Shredders (console launch exclusive)

Scorn

Skatebird

Dead Static Drive

The Good Life

As we close out this year, I’d like to thank you again on behalf of Team Xbox – not just for giving Xbox Series X|S a strong start, but for supporting our belief that this generation of gaming does and should belong to you. Stay tuned, starting with The Game Awards tomorrow, for more surprises.
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Source: Players Drive Record Engagement as Xbox Expands Cloud Gaming to More Devices in 2021 - Xbox Wire

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Brink · May 4, 2021

Microsoft's Approach to PC Gaming on Windows 10 PCs Xbox

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 customizable 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 recognize 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 customization 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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Source:

Our Approach to PC Gaming - Xbox Wire

Xbox head Phil Spencer shares approach to PC gaming | Windows Experience Blog

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Windows 10: How Xbox invests in Windows 10 PC gaming ecosystem in 2021 and beyond

How Xbox invests in Windows 10 PC gaming ecosystem in 2021 and beyond

How Xbox invests in Windows 10 PC gaming ecosystem in 2021 and beyond

How Xbox invests in Windows 10 PC gaming ecosystem in 2021 and beyond

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