While a few of Microsoft's older game titles, comparable to Age of Empires II HD (a 2013 replace of a 1999 game) are found on Valve's super steam platform, its latest high-profile titles, comparable to Forza 6 Apex and Quantum Break, are exclusive to the Windows Store. But this is going to vary, with Microsoft planning to release more titles on the popular store.

Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox team at Microsoft, was talking on Giant Bomb's E3 stream, via GameSpot. Relating to PC gaming, the Windows Retailer is very much an additionally-ran, with Steam the dominant force. As Spencer noted, "I don't assume Valve's damage by not having [Microsoft's] first-party games of their retailer proper now. They're doing incredibly well." Accordingly, Spencer stated that Microsoft "will ship games on Steam again."

Meanwhile, Microsoft's own expertise had been more inconsistent. While some games have achieved effectively in the Windows Store, with Spencer naming each Forza 6 Apex and Killer Intuition as successful titles, he mentioned that "Quantum Break wasn't our best PC release" and that Gears of War Ultimate Edition was merely "OK."

The Windows Retailer is used to selling games built utilizing the Common Windows Platform. These have come beneath fire for sure technical restrictions that they endure, resembling having no choice to disable V-sync and restricted help for multiple GPUs. Microsoft is continuing to work to lift these restrictions: the Windows 10 Anniversary Replace will allow disabling v-sync and can improve a number of GPU assist, and the latest builds of Retailer app make it easier to put in games onto totally different disks. This was a particular annoyance for large games such because the 50GB or so of Quantum Break—with many gamers preferring a quick SSD system drive combined with a larger spinning disk for his or her games, the Store's default to utilizing the system drive for all installations was a problem.

Spencer did not say which games could be sold on Steam, nor after they would appear. Promoting games this fashion could do more than merely open them as much as a wider audience; it might also be helpful in proving that UWP apps aren't inextricably tied to the Windows Store and that they'll the truth is be sold by third parties. This has been a degree of rivalry after game developer Tim Sweeney said that UWP is a "closed platform-inside-a-platform" that "should, must, and can die," even though this is not really true.

Selling UWPs on Steam would underscore this point and display that third-party storefronts are perfectly possible.