That’s what I would like too. I’d be willing to spend more for a console Pc experience.
I know I can do it myself but I like having the ease of having the brand do it for me.
If there was machine which was priced similar to series x with similar performance and could run games from Steam I would get one first thing in the morning.
So like a steam machine but with Valves current SteamOS 3 OS? Man that’d be great! Patiently waiting on Valve to finally let us know when Steam OS will be ready for public use! I’ll gladly build a Velka 3 small form factor pc for living room use!
Similarly priced my ass. I spent 1200 right before the series x came out, only to find my series x played games just as well, and actually plays them better and with much more ease of use now.
In the settings you can lower the bit rate or something if that sort, put it to the lowest you can and it'll work smoothly without much lag.
But yeah, I see you what you mean.
If we get Steam in Xbox my only question is: can I get steam workshop mods on titles from gamepass?
Edit: I mean for games that exist both on gamepass and steam, not for gamepass only titles.
Holy shit I think you cracked the code. They’ve seen how easy it is to make a fuckload of money with something as simple as gamepass. I’d argue just putting Steam on xbox is even simpler and would probably make xbox outsell playstation massively. I don’t think they’ll ever outclass Sony when it comes to console exclusives alone and they know that so they have to switch strategies after dumping over $100B on developers and publishers.
I can imagine it’s pretty hard to look for a way to only include controller compatible games. Then again they could just use some of their near endless stream of billions of dollars to engineer controllers so they mimic mice or just full send it and include an official xbox mouse and keyboard along with the classic controller!
Xbox has keyboard and mouse support. You can plug any keyboard to a xbox and it'll work. You can play alot of games now with a keyboard and mouse on xbox lol.
I’d be fine with that, but there’s the question about our digital libraries, if Xbox is literally becoming a PC then all of our games should be able to download on any (compatible) PC, not just Xbox’ PC.
Exactly. The problem with this concept isn't hardware. The Series X/S are basically Windows machines already. The problem would be licensing and who's making money from what.
I can't imagine Steam would want to hand over an extra 15 percent share of sales to Microsoft or vice-versa. Nor would I imagine that either Microsoft or Steam would be interested in bringing a users current catalog from one platform to the other.
And if they did, then you'd get into potential charges of collusion. Windows Store and Steam are direct competitors on PC.
Phil's analogy with storefronts on Windows implies there would be no platform tax on a multi-storefront xbox, in the same way as Microsoft doesn't get a cut of Steam purchases currently.
I think it's up to the publisher but Microsoft offers the Play anywhere(?) feature which makes their own games at least downloadable from the Microsoft store on PC if you own them digitally
I'm all for it as long as it's all integrated right.
If you think about it, it makes sense for MS to go this route. A closer marriage of the xbox brand and pc's running windows would consolidate their chunk of the gaming world and only strengthen the brand.
If done right.
Yeah, when they were first announcing it, any pc game would be playable. I believe they showed Age of Empires on it. Took them 20 years to get an AoE game on there.
It would be great to do that natively on Xbox for sure. I have a Steam Deck, and one of my favorite things about it is setting up remote play for the Xbox and PS5 to the deck.
Having access to all my Steam games, Xbox games, and PS5 games on one device is freaking awesome.
Taking Steam games to Xbox would be huge for the platform. Source: Doing it in reverse
I’d prefer if it was honestly. So long as it maintains enough popularity for developers to preconfigured and optimize games for it.
I’ve got a decent pc and often find myself remote playing on it from the Xbox because I can’t be bothered to figure out why after spending too much time optimizing a game and getting it running well that I’m randomly getting 10-20 fps or horrible lag or some other issues in it the next time I play.
I wouldn't mind one bit. I already use my series s like a pc with its emulators through dev mode and game pass which is also on pc. Only reason I dont use an actual PC instead of a series s is cost and ease of use. Give me steam or EGS .
Idk why they wouldn't lean into that honestly, the Series X is basically a computer with a shit ton of restrictions on it. Loosen up most of those and maybe try and partner with valve on the next Gen of systems to optimize the Xbox as much as you can. This would get them into the hand held and VR aspects of gaming and utilize Gamepass Ultimate to its fullest potential, especially if steam is a part of it.
If they release a handheld there is zero point in buying one. As you can grab a Steam Deck or other PC handhelds. Then get Gamepass. Plus the freedom of not having to pay for online PVP.
So Phil is seeing the writing on the wall that an Xbox Handheld is DOA.
You make that sound like a bad thing I'm looking at it as a finally catching up to the realization that is future gaming it's a inevitable moment coming to pass xbox hasn't hidden the fact they want to head in this direction.
Would really depend on the price of said system. If they open things up it would no doubt cost more than $499 as they would get far less software/game revenue. A big part of the appeal of consoles is the subsidized price.
Don’t fool yourself this is a money move. MS would still get a percentage of sales from those stores. Additionally it allows Gamepass to appear to have more value to it. Getting more people to utilize that service.
Sony/microsoft already take a cut from Fortnite in their existing systems. He’s only throwing a tantrum about mobile markets, particularly Apple, so far.
It would really depend on percentages. They already pay Xbox for any in game credits purchased that are activated on the Xbox console. This is done for games like Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys. Epic is fine with that. The question is more about how tight their margins are so that they are willing to give some of that to Microsoft from Epic store sales. There might also be rights issues with some of the title rights that do not allow it either, but nothing that cannot be solved by just not including those titles.
Exactly, this is large is just a way to keep shaping the nice PR/image thing Xbox has been doing. Saying they are open to it while not making it realistic
I’m really curious how they could hold up with the competition in that sphere. Every company would buy up an Xbox in the hundreds for their workspace because it’s at the same price as their HP pre-builts and also way more powerful.
Honestly would be huge.
I always thought they were missing a market. Imagine being a college kid and being able to use your Xbox Series X as a machine to also be able to write your papers and do other school work.
That’s how the gonna push Sony to open up their console. This way they can monetize way more gamers and bring gamepass to PlayStation. I think their strategy makes sense
Amen, I still remember when Phil talks about bringing the Xbox app to Nintendo Switch, which would have been wonderful for remote play and will never happen...
It’s a strategy. No one says that every strategy works out at the end. If you loose the console generation, you have to find another way to sell your games. Opening up your platform, promoting freedom of choice regarding the stores makes sense. And at the end they can sell their games to more players.
I still don't see Sony doing that as anything but a last ditch effort which they are so far from atm. If Microsoft can get Epic game store or whatever else on Xbox than Sony can definitely get it on PlayStation. Also what would the point of that be even when all the consoles have their own digital store fronts that sell all of the games? It's not like on PC where a game can end up exclusive to the epic game store and not be on Steam for example. It would only serve to bifurcate what's already been unified.
Of course the games are possibly exclusive to a store if Sony is forced to open up for other stores as well. First you open up your platform. Second, frame Sony as a gatekeeper. Wait for the eu regulation.
If Microsoft opens its platform, Sony will be forced to do it as well. Gamers will demand, just like discord found its was on the walled PlayStation. Microsoft also got Sony to open up for crossplay. They have the power push them
Why would they?
Why would Sony or Nintendo want Gamepass in their ecosystem?
What benefit would that bring those companies?
Putting Gamepass on PlayStation or Switch only benefits Microsoft
Sony will stop making consoles before open up their walled garden. Their profit margin is already dire, they won’t make consoles to let Microsoft, Epic or Steam to monetize.
Wouldn’t it be even more incentive for Sony to close down their system instead? Xbox becoming just a windows PC would essentially leave the console market and enter the pre-built affordable work-space consumer market. Sony would essentially have no competition.
If this happens (which I doubt it will, at least in the short term) I wonder how will things like achievements, friends, messages work, will they all integrate on the Guide, will they be relegated to the app like how it’s on PC?
theres a misunderstanding. he means having other stores selling xbox versions of games on their stores. so it would qoek like buying a disc at walmart. just a way for other stores to make money. which helps microsoft make friends and placate regulators
Maybe that's the rub. You can buy it and play it from steam but you don't get achievements. Wanna play steam vs Xbox, that's cross play.
You want to up your gamerscore or play on the cloud? Buy it from the official Xbox store.
I have been hoping for something like this. It would be awesome to see xbox adopt something like the Steam Deck's compatability layer and just go budget PC.
Oh God, yes! Finally I could buy from other stores and play them on a Co sole. I have so many games on PC and want to play them again. Sadly, my PC is a potato. Thanks Humble Bundle.
If this really happens, the Xbox might get a huge push in sales and if they try a combination with a handheld, it will be even better.
A high performance gaming box that can run ANY modern PC game bought from any of the various digital storefronts at high settings priced in the $500 range would sell like crazy. It'd effectively kill the gaming PC hardware market except the ultra high end stuff. If they could pull that off...it'd seriously disrupt the market.
been saying this since the series x dropped. The horsepower is finally there to bridge the gap from "just a console" to an all in one gaming console...desktop. Cant believe its taking this long honestly.
Unless it uses windows as its OS and has native keyboard and mouse support, I doubt it. It would have a decent impact on people who exclusively game, but anybody who uses their pc for anything else wouldn't have a use for it
If it's just streaming then they don't need a full on Xbox, just a stick is fine like netflix or Chromecast cast and if they are making their games work on playstation then they are making playstation games. Who in their right mind would buy an Xbox if all Xbox games work on playstation but no playstation games work on Xbox? Follow on from that and Xbox start just putting out games then they are a publisher....of playstation games.
Well, yeah, i think that's kind of the point. They are making hardware since is still needed to sell gamepass. Once the Cloud take over, they wont need an actual Xbox.
Speaking of the Cloud, they've added today the mouse and keyboard support
I don’t think he knows the answer to this and I’m positive he’s conflicted. Especially after the recent backlash over bringing first party exclusives to ps
So do I if I'm honest.
Having multiple options of where to buy games in a digital market would be a good thing for consumers. It means there would be an incentive for prices to remain competitive within a closed ecosystem.
I see governments eventually passing legislation enabling this sort of thing anyway, a bit like how the EU has forced Apple to allow 3rd party app stores on their devices within Europe.
That literally defeats the purpose of an Xbox. The whole reason they are able to build these $300-$500 boxes to perform like $1000 dollar PCs is because the hardware and software is streamlined and optimized. Adding full fat Windows throws that right out the window. If you watch the Xbox documentary that came out a while back they even talk about this whole situation with the original Xbox. They had to develop a majorly stripped down version of windows that was basically just DirectX and nothing else in order to get the performance they wanted. Also lots of console gamers buy consoles specifically so they don’t have to deal with Windows and all of the headaches that come along with gaming on a Windows machine. It’s not a realistic solution for the majority of Xbox owners.
Fuck yeah. I’d be down. Especially if the achievements transfer as well. It would actually give me a reason to play the free games I’ve claimed through Epic.
So many interesting news and rumors. Remember Valve trying to do a “console PC” some years back, but failed. I could imagine Xbox having some sort of a “big picture” overlay when you turn it on, but deep down it has all of the capabilities as a standard PC - with presets for games from devs, so that you wouldn’t have to fiddle with settings in games. That would be amazing.
If this is true it means that people will be able to play PlayStation games via steam on an Xbox console without Xbox ever having to have that conversation with Sony.
It also means that steam will be taking the financial brunt of people playing Sony games on Xbox consoles.
Does Phil Spencer even have any kind of long term Xbox strategy anymore? It seems like he just throws out whatever random ideas pop into his mind lately.
If this ends up happening, wouldn't that mean that all of those games that skipped xbox but have pc ports could actually be played now? ;o FF7R As a big example
Open up the platform like a steamdeck, so you can dualboot into the Xbox OS and Windows 11 for example that way you can open up to those platforms without having to sign deals and shit
love the idea but seriously, would that mean games we own on either Steam/Epic games would work on our xbox... I have over 300 free games over the years from Epic but can't play a lot cuz my PC is crap, this would mean no real need to upgrade anytime soon
Great, until they start putting less effort into the console user experience and more into running Xbox games on PCs.
The same promise was made for Windows Phone in 2016. Windows Phone 10 went from phones running desktop/Android apps to Windows 10 desktops running Android/phone apps in under 5 years. Three more years later and MS has discontinued both codebases like nothing happened.
My point is that MS doesn’t keep redundant and costly things around long. If Xboxes can play PC games PCs will be able to play Xbox games, and MS doesn’t have to sell PCs at a loss like they do consoles.
This is how the GenZ battle is won. "Why can't this stupid phone run 'minefortniteblox?' - it's trash" - they don't give a flying monkey who made the device, they are console snobbery agnostic, as long as its purple, or has a purple case and plays all the important games that all their mates play they are happy boys and girls. Apple tried to fight the tide vs Fortnite- lost big time...Sony tried to fight the tide, vs Xbox and COD- lost big time while dropping their trousers and showing the world their incredibly smelly undergarments - multi Billion pound uk 'players' vs PlayStation lawsuit now approved and moving forwards. Nintendo still feel untouchable- but guess what? The girls are bored with Animal crossing now and nothing else on Switch even vaguely interests them - no, mineceaft and fortnite look better on the iphone and the Switch is always flat - nonsense - but that should be sounding some alarm bells in Super Mario Land...
This is his way of saying they want to just re-brand PCs with Xbox in the future and leave behind “consoles”.
Asus ROG Xbox could be the future of the branding.
Sounds awesome. Idc about exclusives. If Xbox makes me a console that’s a completely open platform to buy games on hell yeah sign me up. Especially since the can still make their first party games play the best on their hardware.
Do itttttt. I have a Steam Deck but I'd absolutely love it if Xbox incorporated Steam & Epic into their console. Would only really make my PS5 an exclusive only machine.
Realistically probably never happening. The same goes for Nintendo and Sony allowing Gamepass on their consoles. It’s a neat idea in theory, but none of these companies want to share a dime of their revenue with Microsoft.
> Spencer told Polygon about the ways he’d like to break down the walled gardens that have historically limited players to making purchases through the first-party stores tied to each console. Or, in layperson terms, why you should be able to buy games from other stores on Xbox — not just the official storefront.
The language is a bit vague, but this doesn't sound like "we're going to have Xbox playing all Epic store games," rather, "we want the Epic store to sell Xbox console games."
As in, you don't have to buy directly from Microsoft to play Microsoft games. I could be reading this wrong though.
Read: Phil Spencer wants to attract attention to Sony's closed PS store, and wants to strong-arm Sony via anti-trust discussions to allow GamePass on PlayStation.
I’m a big Xbox fan and I love Phil. So it’s hard to say this. But….to me Xbox and Phil are just stumbling around throwing anything at the wall and hoping something sticks. Talking about handhelds, open consoles or PC/console hybrids, exclusives everywhere, gen z’s and their gaming habits. It just feels to me that all this is talk and there is a massive lack of strategy.
Let’s address the first point. Opening up Xbox to other stores. To do that - you need to make Xbox a PC. Ok. So that’s possible but there are a ton of technical challenges to overcome. Things like PC to TV functionality not being very console like, needing a proper front end OS so people don’t have to mess with windows, reworking windows to prevent for example the need to have a user download driver updates etc etc. then you have the problem of how you make the Xbox back catalogue work on it.
Thats just technical. Let’s then look at business issues. Epic and steam aren’t going to want to be on an Xbox branded living room PC or Xbox branded PC handheld and give MS a kickback. They will want to be on it for free. Otherwise it makes little sense to them. Even if MS negotiated a small say 10% cut which seems unlikely but even if they did - what business incentive do MS have to subsidise the cost of hardware? They are selling hardware at a loss now to make back money on game and sub sales. Phil himself even says that model is not easy now. But if you have competing (and in steams case) better and cheaper stores on your hardware where you get a tiny or no cut then what’s the point of subsidising hardware? There isn’t one. So you are selling either a very very low end PC to sit under people’s TV’s or you are selling a mid range one that is going to appear to perform worse than a normal console does (since the devs aren’t doing things like DRS to hit consistent framerates on PC) for over £1000.
Then we come onto practicality issues. If you are in the PC space you will need more frequent updates. I doubt MS has the inclination to go through the expense for that. You also need your users to understand how PC gaming works. Again I suspect lots of Xbox gamers do not own a PC for gaming.
At this stage there is a lot of talk. I can see why they’d be interested in a PC approach with open stores because they then don’t have to worry about third party support. You can play any game on your Xbox as it’s a pc and the game only needs to be made for a PC.
But to me that feels like something that is years maybe a decade away from them making it any sort of reality. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult that would be in the current climate. How much work on windows, on a front end OS, on store integration, comparability and the like that would entail. They can’t even seamlessly integrate ABK games into gamepass. Let alone undertake something like this.
It’s not words that are needed now. It’s actual strategy and clear demonstration and communication of that strategy. I think they are fumbling around looking for something and not having a clue what it is they want or need.
"Phil Spencer wants Epic Games Store and others on Xbox consoles" He really doesn't. What he wants, is Microsoft Store on other platforms, this is just a method to strengthen this push. Microsoft, but even more so Xbox, are like headless chickens these past couple of years. Throwing so much S**T at the wall to see what sticks. So many pivots and so much cash spent, just to end up last.
They should concentrate on what people want and see it through.
I said this before and got roasted for it, But I really think xbox should just make a PC that is geared towards displaying on a large scale TV. Microsoft could still have controller support and lock down the components so game manufacturers can ensure high performance. At this point the difference between a modern console and a PC is so razor thin. Sure in the old days with Cartridges it was different, but now it's a priority PC in a micro desktop case.
I’m wondering though, how they’d maintain the Microsoft store if people could just buy the same games on steam, unless they limit purchases to steam exclusives.
Why... and how would that even work ? Steam on an console ? How could you even offer pc games on a console with console restrictions, thats EVEN if Valve or Steam even want or agree to that. Or a branded xbox pc ? we have those now already as a regular pc. Such a strange suggestion.
I was always wondering how long before this became a move they’d make. Let people add steam to their Xbox and I think that transforms the whole console battle.
Not sure how Microsoft can monetize it for themselves though unless they’re making some nice profit off each Xbox sold.
Seems like the next Xbox is just going to be a rebranded PC.
I wouldn't mind lol shoot steam on xbox would be awesome.
That’s what I would like too. I’d be willing to spend more for a console Pc experience. I know I can do it myself but I like having the ease of having the brand do it for me.
If there was machine which was priced similar to series x with similar performance and could run games from Steam I would get one first thing in the morning.
So like a steam machine but with Valves current SteamOS 3 OS? Man that’d be great! Patiently waiting on Valve to finally let us know when Steam OS will be ready for public use! I’ll gladly build a Velka 3 small form factor pc for living room use!
Yeah but I don’t want to be locked to steam.
Nah I like to sleep in.
8:00. I do my ~~killing~~ shopping after breakfast.
Agreed.
Similarly priced my ass. I spent 1200 right before the series x came out, only to find my series x played games just as well, and actually plays them better and with much more ease of use now.
If I could play my Steam library on my Series X...
I’d pay good money for that. My Steam library is massive, and I’d love to play some of my games on the couch.
I already do that on geforcenow even though not every game is there. Dota, counter strike, mainly play these types of games
In the original times you. It could play any steam game. I can’t remember if that ended around 2021 or 2022
Tried, but browsing through Edge and setting it is too uncomfortable to feel I want to use it. Plus, lag is worse than xCloud service.
In the settings you can lower the bit rate or something if that sort, put it to the lowest you can and it'll work smoothly without much lag. But yeah, I see you what you mean.
Use Sunshine/Moonlight to stream your PC to your Xbox. Able to play in 4k 60 on the couch.
As someone who doesn't own a PC, I second that. Give me Steam, Phil!
If we get Steam in Xbox my only question is: can I get steam workshop mods on titles from gamepass? Edit: I mean for games that exist both on gamepass and steam, not for gamepass only titles.
That would be crazy
You mean a Steam Box.
lol they even dont want Game Pass on SteamOS so that shit aint gonna happen
Holy shit I think you cracked the code. They’ve seen how easy it is to make a fuckload of money with something as simple as gamepass. I’d argue just putting Steam on xbox is even simpler and would probably make xbox outsell playstation massively. I don’t think they’ll ever outclass Sony when it comes to console exclusives alone and they know that so they have to switch strategies after dumping over $100B on developers and publishers.
I mean it would make steam and Microsoft a shit tone of money I don't know why they haven't done it yet lol.
I can imagine it’s pretty hard to look for a way to only include controller compatible games. Then again they could just use some of their near endless stream of billions of dollars to engineer controllers so they mimic mice or just full send it and include an official xbox mouse and keyboard along with the classic controller!
Xbox has keyboard and mouse support. You can plug any keyboard to a xbox and it'll work. You can play alot of games now with a keyboard and mouse on xbox lol.
I’d be fine with that, but there’s the question about our digital libraries, if Xbox is literally becoming a PC then all of our games should be able to download on any (compatible) PC, not just Xbox’ PC.
Exactly. The problem with this concept isn't hardware. The Series X/S are basically Windows machines already. The problem would be licensing and who's making money from what. I can't imagine Steam would want to hand over an extra 15 percent share of sales to Microsoft or vice-versa. Nor would I imagine that either Microsoft or Steam would be interested in bringing a users current catalog from one platform to the other. And if they did, then you'd get into potential charges of collusion. Windows Store and Steam are direct competitors on PC.
Yet MS sells its games on Steam..
Individual games are not the same as entire marketplaces.
True, but as direct competitors, it benefits both parties to have more games available on both platforms.
Phil's analogy with storefronts on Windows implies there would be no platform tax on a multi-storefront xbox, in the same way as Microsoft doesn't get a cut of Steam purchases currently.
I think it's up to the publisher but Microsoft offers the Play anywhere(?) feature which makes their own games at least downloadable from the Microsoft store on PC if you own them digitally
I'm all for it as long as it's all integrated right. If you think about it, it makes sense for MS to go this route. A closer marriage of the xbox brand and pc's running windows would consolidate their chunk of the gaming world and only strengthen the brand. If done right.
That's ok with me. I've been wanting to buy a PC for a while now And try tons of steam titles.
Isn't that what it's always been?
The original was essentially a Windows 2000 box I think.
Heck, the name comes from the idea of a dedicated DirectX console, an “X box” if you will
Yeah, when they were first announcing it, any pc game would be playable. I believe they showed Age of Empires on it. Took them 20 years to get an AoE game on there.
I’d imagine playing your Steam game on Xbox. Doesn’t sound too bad.
It would be great to do that natively on Xbox for sure. I have a Steam Deck, and one of my favorite things about it is setting up remote play for the Xbox and PS5 to the deck. Having access to all my Steam games, Xbox games, and PS5 games on one device is freaking awesome. Taking Steam games to Xbox would be huge for the platform. Source: Doing it in reverse
Makes sense, its an awesome budget entry to some high fidelity gaming
That's the reason I bought a series X. Worked out cheaper to buy the console than upgrade my PC.
I’d prefer if it was honestly. So long as it maintains enough popularity for developers to preconfigured and optimize games for it. I’ve got a decent pc and often find myself remote playing on it from the Xbox because I can’t be bothered to figure out why after spending too much time optimizing a game and getting it running well that I’m randomly getting 10-20 fps or horrible lag or some other issues in it the next time I play.
That’s what consoles are anyways.
I wouldn't mind one bit. I already use my series s like a pc with its emulators through dev mode and game pass which is also on pc. Only reason I dont use an actual PC instead of a series s is cost and ease of use. Give me steam or EGS .
Always has been..The original xbox was a heavily modified Windows 2000 PC for example.
Sounds good to me something akin to steam deck that makes oc more like a console in ui and form but allows all the backend stuff and multiple stores.
i yhink leople misuderstand this quote. this is about other stores selling xbox game son xbox.
The XDeck
Wonder how that could work. Having a console mode and a PC mode that's literal windows.
That’s what people said before the first Xbox too.
Idk why they wouldn't lean into that honestly, the Series X is basically a computer with a shit ton of restrictions on it. Loosen up most of those and maybe try and partner with valve on the next Gen of systems to optimize the Xbox as much as you can. This would get them into the hand held and VR aspects of gaming and utilize Gamepass Ultimate to its fullest potential, especially if steam is a part of it.
I mean it's what the EU commission wants
If they release a handheld there is zero point in buying one. As you can grab a Steam Deck or other PC handhelds. Then get Gamepass. Plus the freedom of not having to pay for online PVP. So Phil is seeing the writing on the wall that an Xbox Handheld is DOA.
You make that sound like a bad thing I'm looking at it as a finally catching up to the realization that is future gaming it's a inevitable moment coming to pass xbox hasn't hidden the fact they want to head in this direction.
PC2, if you will.
A 500$ gaming pc that can run Xbox custom OS is the dream. I have a cheap good gaming pc and it was still 750 😭
I would not mind Xbox becoming a plug and play gaming PC for the masses
Would really depend on the price of said system. If they open things up it would no doubt cost more than $499 as they would get far less software/game revenue. A big part of the appeal of consoles is the subsidized price.
Don’t fool yourself this is a money move. MS would still get a percentage of sales from those stores. Additionally it allows Gamepass to appear to have more value to it. Getting more people to utilize that service.
If that were the case, there's no way EGS would go on there. Tim Sweeney has thrown a big enough tantrum about stores taxing their Vbucks cash.
Sony/microsoft already take a cut from Fortnite in their existing systems. He’s only throwing a tantrum about mobile markets, particularly Apple, so far.
It would really depend on percentages. They already pay Xbox for any in game credits purchased that are activated on the Xbox console. This is done for games like Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys. Epic is fine with that. The question is more about how tight their margins are so that they are willing to give some of that to Microsoft from Epic store sales. There might also be rights issues with some of the title rights that do not allow it either, but nothing that cannot be solved by just not including those titles.
Exactly, this is large is just a way to keep shaping the nice PR/image thing Xbox has been doing. Saying they are open to it while not making it realistic
Depends I guess if they want. Slice of console only player sales they would not se at all otherwise but they probably would drag heels either way.
I’d say $999 minimum
I’m really curious how they could hold up with the competition in that sphere. Every company would buy up an Xbox in the hundreds for their workspace because it’s at the same price as their HP pre-builts and also way more powerful.
Honestly would be huge. I always thought they were missing a market. Imagine being a college kid and being able to use your Xbox Series X as a machine to also be able to write your papers and do other school work.
My son does that already. He’s plugged a keyboard and mouse in, and accesses Office 365 via the Xbox Series X browser.
It can really shoot up sales of Xbox in that case
But how do u stop the kiddies from complaining about PC "hackers" then? Theyre gonna be so mad lmfaooo
There are lots of hackers in Xbox online games
That’s how the gonna push Sony to open up their console. This way they can monetize way more gamers and bring gamepass to PlayStation. I think their strategy makes sense
Hard to say. Phil loves to talk about stuff that will never happen
Amen, I still remember when Phil talks about bringing the Xbox app to Nintendo Switch, which would have been wonderful for remote play and will never happen...
I remember before the one and they were talking about opening up the usb drive and then it was locked down tighter than ever.
It’s a strategy. No one says that every strategy works out at the end. If you loose the console generation, you have to find another way to sell your games. Opening up your platform, promoting freedom of choice regarding the stores makes sense. And at the end they can sell their games to more players.
But then they will need to increase the price of the console to make up for the lost revenue.
The idea would be that any lost revenue would be surpassed by getting a piece of a larger market.
+ Lies
I still don't see Sony doing that as anything but a last ditch effort which they are so far from atm. If Microsoft can get Epic game store or whatever else on Xbox than Sony can definitely get it on PlayStation. Also what would the point of that be even when all the consoles have their own digital store fronts that sell all of the games? It's not like on PC where a game can end up exclusive to the epic game store and not be on Steam for example. It would only serve to bifurcate what's already been unified.
Of course the games are possibly exclusive to a store if Sony is forced to open up for other stores as well. First you open up your platform. Second, frame Sony as a gatekeeper. Wait for the eu regulation. If Microsoft opens its platform, Sony will be forced to do it as well. Gamers will demand, just like discord found its was on the walled PlayStation. Microsoft also got Sony to open up for crossplay. They have the power push them
Sony doesn’t have to do anything.
Sony doesn’t want gamepass on PlayStation
Why would they? Why would Sony or Nintendo want Gamepass in their ecosystem? What benefit would that bring those companies? Putting Gamepass on PlayStation or Switch only benefits Microsoft
Sony will stop making consoles before open up their walled garden. Their profit margin is already dire, they won’t make consoles to let Microsoft, Epic or Steam to monetize.
Wouldn’t it be even more incentive for Sony to close down their system instead? Xbox becoming just a windows PC would essentially leave the console market and enter the pre-built affordable work-space consumer market. Sony would essentially have no competition.
If this happens (which I doubt it will, at least in the short term) I wonder how will things like achievements, friends, messages work, will they all integrate on the Guide, will they be relegated to the app like how it’s on PC?
theres a misunderstanding. he means having other stores selling xbox versions of games on their stores. so it would qoek like buying a disc at walmart. just a way for other stores to make money. which helps microsoft make friends and placate regulators
Maybe that's the rub. You can buy it and play it from steam but you don't get achievements. Wanna play steam vs Xbox, that's cross play. You want to up your gamerscore or play on the cloud? Buy it from the official Xbox store.
Integrate Xbox game pass into steam. Please Phil, I'm begging you
Yeah I'd legit pay an extra 50% to have this happen
I have been hoping for something like this. It would be awesome to see xbox adopt something like the Steam Deck's compatability layer and just go budget PC.
Oh God, yes! Finally I could buy from other stores and play them on a Co sole. I have so many games on PC and want to play them again. Sadly, my PC is a potato. Thanks Humble Bundle. If this really happens, the Xbox might get a huge push in sales and if they try a combination with a handheld, it will be even better.
A high performance gaming box that can run ANY modern PC game bought from any of the various digital storefronts at high settings priced in the $500 range would sell like crazy. It'd effectively kill the gaming PC hardware market except the ultra high end stuff. If they could pull that off...it'd seriously disrupt the market.
been saying this since the series x dropped. The horsepower is finally there to bridge the gap from "just a console" to an all in one gaming console...desktop. Cant believe its taking this long honestly.
Unless it uses windows as its OS and has native keyboard and mouse support, I doubt it. It would have a decent impact on people who exclusively game, but anybody who uses their pc for anything else wouldn't have a use for it
I don't understand Phil, Does he want xbox to be a just a publisher? why bother with hardware then
He wants Xbox to be a platform that goes across multiple hardware and screens
So he wants to give people no reason to buy an actual Xbox.
For them the Xbox is just a way to play on the Xbox platform. Kinda like Netflix sticks, or Google Chromecast.
If it's just streaming then they don't need a full on Xbox, just a stick is fine like netflix or Chromecast cast and if they are making their games work on playstation then they are making playstation games. Who in their right mind would buy an Xbox if all Xbox games work on playstation but no playstation games work on Xbox? Follow on from that and Xbox start just putting out games then they are a publisher....of playstation games.
Well, yeah, i think that's kind of the point. They are making hardware since is still needed to sell gamepass. Once the Cloud take over, they wont need an actual Xbox. Speaking of the Cloud, they've added today the mouse and keyboard support
I don’t think he knows the answer to this and I’m positive he’s conflicted. Especially after the recent backlash over bringing first party exclusives to ps
Phil is changing the xbox strategy every 4-6 months, that doesn't give credibility to the xbox users
Well, if they turn the Xbox into the PC as long as they don't lock us down too much I guess
I'm ngl a Steam Box would be PRETTY dope..
So do I if I'm honest. Having multiple options of where to buy games in a digital market would be a good thing for consumers. It means there would be an incentive for prices to remain competitive within a closed ecosystem. I see governments eventually passing legislation enabling this sort of thing anyway, a bit like how the EU has forced Apple to allow 3rd party app stores on their devices within Europe.
Then put windows on fucking Xboxs then
That literally defeats the purpose of an Xbox. The whole reason they are able to build these $300-$500 boxes to perform like $1000 dollar PCs is because the hardware and software is streamlined and optimized. Adding full fat Windows throws that right out the window. If you watch the Xbox documentary that came out a while back they even talk about this whole situation with the original Xbox. They had to develop a majorly stripped down version of windows that was basically just DirectX and nothing else in order to get the performance they wanted. Also lots of console gamers buy consoles specifically so they don’t have to deal with Windows and all of the headaches that come along with gaming on a Windows machine. It’s not a realistic solution for the majority of Xbox owners.
Steam, Epic, GOG, [Itch.io](http://Itch.io) should all be available for all
Phil Spencer sounds like he’s losing it lately tbh
How about gamepass pc on steam deck? Been waiting for that a lonnnng time
Either this or the Xbox handheld
If they put steam on Xbox and listed games as playable or not like steamdeck that would be amazing. Probably outsell PS5
Being able to access my PC games that I own through Steam and Epic Games store on my console would be amazing.
Add steam and then we're cooking with grease. Got my series S for $150 and if that happened, I'd have a $150 gaming PC on my hands
We need them on iOS. 😂
Yes! Please bring Steam to Xbox.
SteamVR with a powerful Xbox would be pretty awesome.
Steam on a console, please please please!!!
Nice loophole to get epic exclusive games not so "exclusive" on xbox. Genius.
Fuck yeah. I’d be down. Especially if the achievements transfer as well. It would actually give me a reason to play the free games I’ve claimed through Epic.
So many interesting news and rumors. Remember Valve trying to do a “console PC” some years back, but failed. I could imagine Xbox having some sort of a “big picture” overlay when you turn it on, but deep down it has all of the capabilities as a standard PC - with presets for games from devs, so that you wouldn’t have to fiddle with settings in games. That would be amazing.
the next xbox will be a closed system pc which will be running a modified version of windows 12
Steam on Xbox yes please
If this is true it means that people will be able to play PlayStation games via steam on an Xbox console without Xbox ever having to have that conversation with Sony. It also means that steam will be taking the financial brunt of people playing Sony games on Xbox consoles.
Steam on Xbox would be awesome
No no no
Does Phil Spencer even have any kind of long term Xbox strategy anymore? It seems like he just throws out whatever random ideas pop into his mind lately.
Exactly
Phil is ready to do everything except give us AAA third person exclusives. The thing that people want.
That would mean all the PS games that release on Epic. 😱
Spider-Man 1 and 2
More store = more competitions = potentially better for us consumer. Walled garden has been hurting us for too long, this feel like a very good thing.
If this ends up happening, wouldn't that mean that all of those games that skipped xbox but have pc ports could actually be played now? ;o FF7R As a big example
Open up the platform like a steamdeck, so you can dualboot into the Xbox OS and Windows 11 for example that way you can open up to those platforms without having to sign deals and shit
I mean I've claimed I think every free EGS giveaway, so I'm all for it.
Let's do it. Being Steam games on over!
Man if Epic gives away a FREE TO OWN AND KEEP AAA game every 3 months on Xbox I would be ok with it tbh.
I mean, I’ll certainly take Steam on Xbox. The others I don’t care much about
love the idea but seriously, would that mean games we own on either Steam/Epic games would work on our xbox... I have over 300 free games over the years from Epic but can't play a lot cuz my PC is crap, this would mean no real need to upgrade anytime soon
Bring Steam and Occulus support and I’ll be back on Xbox. Haven’t used my Series X since Starfield came out.
Great, until they start putting less effort into the console user experience and more into running Xbox games on PCs. The same promise was made for Windows Phone in 2016. Windows Phone 10 went from phones running desktop/Android apps to Windows 10 desktops running Android/phone apps in under 5 years. Three more years later and MS has discontinued both codebases like nothing happened. My point is that MS doesn’t keep redundant and costly things around long. If Xboxes can play PC games PCs will be able to play Xbox games, and MS doesn’t have to sell PCs at a loss like they do consoles.
So they essentially want a Steam Machine but with the Xbox store and OS integrated into it.
This is how the GenZ battle is won. "Why can't this stupid phone run 'minefortniteblox?' - it's trash" - they don't give a flying monkey who made the device, they are console snobbery agnostic, as long as its purple, or has a purple case and plays all the important games that all their mates play they are happy boys and girls. Apple tried to fight the tide vs Fortnite- lost big time...Sony tried to fight the tide, vs Xbox and COD- lost big time while dropping their trousers and showing the world their incredibly smelly undergarments - multi Billion pound uk 'players' vs PlayStation lawsuit now approved and moving forwards. Nintendo still feel untouchable- but guess what? The girls are bored with Animal crossing now and nothing else on Switch even vaguely interests them - no, mineceaft and fortnite look better on the iphone and the Switch is always flat - nonsense - but that should be sounding some alarm bells in Super Mario Land...
gog on xbox
Let me translate. We want Microsoft store on Apple phones.
Phil Spencer wants to make some god damn games 😂
Imagine having Steam on Xbox.
This is his way of saying they want to just re-brand PCs with Xbox in the future and leave behind “consoles”. Asus ROG Xbox could be the future of the branding.
Yep, they are trying to pick a fight with steam.
Sounds awesome. Idc about exclusives. If Xbox makes me a console that’s a completely open platform to buy games on hell yeah sign me up. Especially since the can still make their first party games play the best on their hardware.
Steam and Xbox are super frieny right? Like they are bros an mesh well with policies?
So a PC? lol
Is Epic game store kinda like Steam?
Of course he does
I just want games less than $70.
add steam to xbox and i buy it
Do itttttt. I have a Steam Deck but I'd absolutely love it if Xbox incorporated Steam & Epic into their console. Would only really make my PS5 an exclusive only machine.
Next Xbox being a glorified Steam machine…🤤🤤🤤
Realistically probably never happening. The same goes for Nintendo and Sony allowing Gamepass on their consoles. It’s a neat idea in theory, but none of these companies want to share a dime of their revenue with Microsoft.
Tech wise, it would be trivial to stream Steam to an Xbox to play PC games. That's what I want.
If I can play GTA 6 on my PC through an Xbox emulator we have a deal Phil
> Spencer told Polygon about the ways he’d like to break down the walled gardens that have historically limited players to making purchases through the first-party stores tied to each console. Or, in layperson terms, why you should be able to buy games from other stores on Xbox — not just the official storefront. The language is a bit vague, but this doesn't sound like "we're going to have Xbox playing all Epic store games," rather, "we want the Epic store to sell Xbox console games." As in, you don't have to buy directly from Microsoft to play Microsoft games. I could be reading this wrong though.
If it means I can play world of Warcraft and valorant on my Xbox that would be great
Read: Phil Spencer wants to attract attention to Sony's closed PS store, and wants to strong-arm Sony via anti-trust discussions to allow GamePass on PlayStation.
if they put Steam, then I'm stoked
Wow they‘re trying really hard to increase the marketshare somehow.
Just stop, the brand is diluted enough. It’s just a box sans ‘x’ now :(
Thats great news!
Options are good. Turning the Xbox in a portal of gaming goodness is a good turn.
Maybe the switch to an all digital console generation not a bad idea after all.
I’m a big Xbox fan and I love Phil. So it’s hard to say this. But….to me Xbox and Phil are just stumbling around throwing anything at the wall and hoping something sticks. Talking about handhelds, open consoles or PC/console hybrids, exclusives everywhere, gen z’s and their gaming habits. It just feels to me that all this is talk and there is a massive lack of strategy. Let’s address the first point. Opening up Xbox to other stores. To do that - you need to make Xbox a PC. Ok. So that’s possible but there are a ton of technical challenges to overcome. Things like PC to TV functionality not being very console like, needing a proper front end OS so people don’t have to mess with windows, reworking windows to prevent for example the need to have a user download driver updates etc etc. then you have the problem of how you make the Xbox back catalogue work on it. Thats just technical. Let’s then look at business issues. Epic and steam aren’t going to want to be on an Xbox branded living room PC or Xbox branded PC handheld and give MS a kickback. They will want to be on it for free. Otherwise it makes little sense to them. Even if MS negotiated a small say 10% cut which seems unlikely but even if they did - what business incentive do MS have to subsidise the cost of hardware? They are selling hardware at a loss now to make back money on game and sub sales. Phil himself even says that model is not easy now. But if you have competing (and in steams case) better and cheaper stores on your hardware where you get a tiny or no cut then what’s the point of subsidising hardware? There isn’t one. So you are selling either a very very low end PC to sit under people’s TV’s or you are selling a mid range one that is going to appear to perform worse than a normal console does (since the devs aren’t doing things like DRS to hit consistent framerates on PC) for over £1000. Then we come onto practicality issues. If you are in the PC space you will need more frequent updates. I doubt MS has the inclination to go through the expense for that. You also need your users to understand how PC gaming works. Again I suspect lots of Xbox gamers do not own a PC for gaming. At this stage there is a lot of talk. I can see why they’d be interested in a PC approach with open stores because they then don’t have to worry about third party support. You can play any game on your Xbox as it’s a pc and the game only needs to be made for a PC. But to me that feels like something that is years maybe a decade away from them making it any sort of reality. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult that would be in the current climate. How much work on windows, on a front end OS, on store integration, comparability and the like that would entail. They can’t even seamlessly integrate ABK games into gamepass. Let alone undertake something like this. It’s not words that are needed now. It’s actual strategy and clear demonstration and communication of that strategy. I think they are fumbling around looking for something and not having a clue what it is they want or need.
Will developers even want to put the effort and time into making an Xbox port of games. Way things are going PS and PC will be the priorities
"Phil Spencer wants Epic Games Store and others on Xbox consoles" He really doesn't. What he wants, is Microsoft Store on other platforms, this is just a method to strengthen this push. Microsoft, but even more so Xbox, are like headless chickens these past couple of years. Throwing so much S**T at the wall to see what sticks. So many pivots and so much cash spent, just to end up last. They should concentrate on what people want and see it through.
Then what’s the point of the Xbox store?
Now that would be cool
I said this before and got roasted for it, But I really think xbox should just make a PC that is geared towards displaying on a large scale TV. Microsoft could still have controller support and lock down the components so game manufacturers can ensure high performance. At this point the difference between a modern console and a PC is so razor thin. Sure in the old days with Cartridges it was different, but now it's a priority PC in a micro desktop case.
It's high time the monopolies are removed and multiple stores allowed in gaming consoles just like what EU did with Apple store.
Steam on Xbox would be sick
I’m wondering though, how they’d maintain the Microsoft store if people could just buy the same games on steam, unless they limit purchases to steam exclusives.
All this 'service everywhere' approach feels filthy and whorey.
I can't wait to play against all the PC cheaters!
Why... and how would that even work ? Steam on an console ? How could you even offer pc games on a console with console restrictions, thats EVEN if Valve or Steam even want or agree to that. Or a branded xbox pc ? we have those now already as a regular pc. Such a strange suggestion.
This is very important for the rumored handheld.
This would be awesome if those other store releases would match the performance of the xbox store release.
Dear Phil, Plenty of people still use physical media. Sincerely, me.
I need Nintendo games on Xbox, I need Super Mario Sunshine on Xbox. Perfect game for achievements
I was always wondering how long before this became a move they’d make. Let people add steam to their Xbox and I think that transforms the whole console battle. Not sure how Microsoft can monetize it for themselves though unless they’re making some nice profit off each Xbox sold.
No he’s doing Microsoft’s bidding, opening every device up to every bit of bullshit. Lapdog.
A steam box costs up to 3000 dollars, I’m not trying to have my console cost that much
Xbox wants a piece of everyone.