Dear Microsoft: It's time to bring your PC games to Steam

A few months ago I wrote a piece detailing how utterly terrible the Windows ten Store (now called the Microsoft Store) is for core gamers (or well, nigh anyone, actually), but what has changed since then? Sadly, not a whole lot.

Microsoft has addressed many of my criticisms, but mainly the superficial ones. In that location's a new row showcasing PC games specifically near the top of the folio. The "top rated" games (i.e. bad casino mobile apps full of imitation reviews) are now listed at the bottom of the store. There's a section showcasing games enabled with Xbox Live, and hey, at that place'south even quite a few decent titles in there now, including Heart-earth: Shadow of War, GWENT: A Witcher Card Game, and recently, The Long Dark. But it'southward not enough.

This fall-winter gaming season has made me realize that, for Microsoft Studios to abound both in terms of credibility and mindshare, they have to surrender on Microsoft Store exclusivity. It's probably too belatedly to set up its reputation.

Cuphead becomes a meme, because of Steam

Microsoft seemingly sank a lot of money into Cuphead, the maddeningly difficult and artistically awe-inspiring platformer from Studio MDHR. While not a Microsoft Studios-published title, Cuphead enjoys permanent exclusivity on Xbox One, presumably in exchange for marketing efforts and investment. Cuphead was delayed quite a bit to expand the telescopic of the game, adding more bosses and platforming levels into the mix over the grade of development.

Cuphead sold an incredible one meg copies in 2 weeks, which is outstanding for a side-scrolling platformer from a fresh IP. The game'southward art way, punishingly rewarding gameplay, and overall quality really helped it achieve serious success, as well as discussion-of-oral fissure, influencer YouTube and streaming content, and piles and piles of memes.

"Cupsouls," is i such meme, a portmanteau of Nighttime Souls and Cuphead, in honour of the game's difficulty. Cuphead'south "learn-past-dying" gameplay is superficially reminiscent of Dark Souls' hardcore ARPG gainsay, which rewards players for persistence and patience. Mayhap it's also to mock game journalists who draw whatever hard game as being "like Dark Souls."

Memes and fandom are organic things, and every time a corporate entity attempts to tap into them, it's well-nigh always a cringefest. Memes are the social media equivalent of word-of-mouth, and the discussion revolving effectually Cuphead certainly helped it reach a bigger audition. There's no real fashion to measure this, of form, but I'd exist willing to bet coin that Cuphead wouldn't have achieved its fandom/memetic status without hitting Steam. It certainly wouldn't have achieved its sales success having been locked to the Microsoft Store on PC.

The same tin can be said about other quality Xbox panel exclusives that hit UWP and Steam, including Ori and the Blind Forest. Killer Instinct might have fared better had information technology launched on Steam, instead of years after the fact. Imagine how much bigger Halo v'due south eSports scene could have been if information technology was on Steam? Etcetera, etcetera.

Many "cadre" gamers, the sort probable to share and celebrate the culture of games online are often on PC, and for them, Steam is the de-facto king of PC games distribution. How does Microsoft await to achieve that audience when its shop just sucks, even for the basics?

YouTube gaming "influencers," the major PC word forums, subreddits, and beyond, it's always about Steam, and games that arrive via Steam. Save for exceptions like Blizzard's Battle.net, which has earned its place on PC across decades of solid online services and high-quality games.

When information technology comes to Microsoft-backed titles, giving a game similar Cuphead a Microsoft Store brake on PC wouldn't have just injure the reach of the game, but it creates that negative association on PC that Microsoft has earned itself through the continuing tragedy that is the Windows x app store. Microsoft Store exclusivity hurts PC games, it doesn't help PC games.

Information technology's fourth dimension to give upward on Microsoft Store exclusivity

Microsoft has had years to solve fifty-fifty the most incredibly basic bug with the Windows 10 app store, and yet it continues to laissez passer the cadet. Forza Motorsport 7 and Center-earth: Shadow of War launched a few weeks ago, plagued by download issues owing to the fact the Microsoft Store even so struggles with large file sizes. This is basic stuff, and the fact that it wasn't fixed for the launch of these flagship UWP titles speaks to me of complacency or, just plain apathy.

It's the Windows team that handles the Microsoft Store, for some reason, when it should probably be Xbox. The Xbox Store has no such issues handling big file sizes, fifty-fifty when yous interrupt downloads mid-way. The same cannot be said for the Microsoft Store on Windows, which in some cases, an interrupted download can lead to having to re-download the entire game again, blowing up data caps. Some of these games are pushing 100 GB due to 4K assets, so to have the download restart at the final minute is merely unforgiveable, peculiarly if you take a particularly bad ISP.

There's notwithstanding no piece of cake way to admission your game library, as we get on Steam. Information technology'southward nevertheless a task to filter and discover new games, compared to Steam. And still, the Microsoft Store is crammed with shovelware, casino games, and the haunted remains of its dead mobile platform. Dangling like a shrivelled, vestigial limb.

The Microsoft Store actually stopped working for a while as I was writing this.

The difference between the Xbox version of the Microsoft Shop on console and the Microsoft Shop for games on PC is almost night and mean solar day. Articulate and useful categories rather than hidden filters, dedicated (and fast) game library department for installation direction, quick admission to social features, so on. On PC, we take an incredibly, woefully, painfully clunky Xbox app, which does take some of these features too, but UWP doesn't seem to be a fast enough vehicle for a program with this sort of complication. No self respecting PC gamer is going to choose Xbox Clubs over Discord or Steam for keeping in touch with their clan, because even on a quad-core PC the Xbox app is slow equally molasses, and that'southward when information technology isn't crashing.

I never use Microsoft'south gaming ecosystem on PC out of option, it's always because I'thousand forced to. I like the usability of UWP containers vs. legacy Win32 implementations for games (when they work), but the apps that ability and itemize these experiences are never a pleasant feel to use. It all just continues to feel like an afterthought for Microsoft. Recently, it was updated with fluent blueprint translucency and a new icon, though. Hooray.

Cease of the road

Fifty-fifty if the most contemptuous scenario is truthful, that Microsoft's approach to this stuff is do as little as possible, to make as much money every bit possible, surely simply putting games like Forza Motorsport seven, Halo Wars 2, and ReCore Definitive Edition on Steam is a surefire manner to approach this, rather than fixing their own store. And the thing is, I know this scenario isn't true. I know in that location are people at Microsoft and Xbox who genuinely want to create a good experience for PC gamers.

Putting titles on Steam will mean Valve gets a cut of the profits, just perhaps Microsoft can brainstorm patching its reputation with the PC gaming audience whose historical mistrust of Microsoft (due to Games for Windows Live) has simply been tempered by the debacle that is the Microsoft Shop. If you're going to emulate something, like Steam, you'd better promise that your attempts at to the lowest degree approach the same level of quality. Otherwise, existence forced to use it is merely going to breed resentment.

Cuphead and others might not have achieved the condition they did if Redmond had restricted them to the Microsoft Store as part of an exclusivity deal. And sure, information technology's not just because the Microsoft Store isn't overnice to use, it's besides because it's exclusive to Windows 10. Many PC gamers opt in to Windows seven, an incredibly quondam Os, because they don't run into the value in upgrading. That's a whole other problem.

Previously there was a legitimate reason to restrict games to UWP and the Windows 10 Store to serve cross-play for games similar Killer Instinct, but since Steam has now opened upward its systems to Xbox Alive cross-play the barriers are gone.

All the Microsoft Shop does is punish gamers who want to play Microsoft games.

At the cease of the twenty-four hours, it looks equally though Microsoft is actively exploring porting its games beyond to Steam anyway. Halo Wars Definitive Edition already arrived, and I've seen some testify that Halo Wars ii could exist following information technology. But what of the mainline Halos, Forzas, and Gears of Wars of the world? Why the inconsistency and arbitrary restrictions? I recollect it's time to bite the bullet, so to speak.

I want to reiterate that in that location are people at Microsoft and Xbox who want to set this, it'due south but doesn't seem to be a priority college up the Windows chain. There'due south too nobody who wants the Microsoft ecosystem to succeed more than than me, simply information technology has just get credible that the drive to succeed in this expanse isn't at that place.

The Microsoft Store is "fine" for those who are but using it for Xbox Play Anywhere titles across from their Xbox One, only for defended PC-gamers, if information technology tin can't offer the usability Steam delivers, or other PC distribution platforms for that matter. All the Microsoft Store does is punish gamers who want to play Microsoft games. That'south not helping Microsoft's paradigm every bit a game publisher, it'due south non helping those developers and games to brand coin, and certainly, its not helping gamers.

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