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Microsoft announces AMD partnership for next-gen gaming devices — to make Windows the no. 1 in gaming

Marees said:
i thought a bit about this

the only way ms can get devs to build for xbox playanywhere rather than steam is : if they show a high active player count
  1. either thru xcloud
  2. or thru xbox console
this means they will heavily end up promoting both cloud & console to up active player count. this means
  1. bundle free cloud hours as much as possible with other services (discord, netflix etc.)
  2. heavily subsidize console prices
  3. exclusive first party games for console / xbox app maybe ?
it follows that helix price will be subsidized by Microsoft
Click to expand...

You're probably right. Developers have been burnt by their tools too many times. Microsoft is claiming some kind of easy streamlined experience here (again), but it's clear that they still want the developers to migrate their build processes over to whatever Microsoft decides is the "right way" to do things (again). There needs to be a huge incentive before anybody will be willing to do this, and reaching a wider audience is likely the carrot they'll be trying to dangle.
 

Microsoft’s Windows secrete K2 plan aims to cut Windows 11 bloat and improve gaming performance - VideoCardz.com​

Windows 11 may get lower memory use and fewer update restarts under K2​

Published: Apr 29th 2026, 12:14 GMT by WhyCry
20 Comments
Microsoft is reportedly working on a Windows 11 quality push known internally as Windows K2.
According to Windows Central, this is not a new OS release, but an ongoing effort to improve performance, reliability, UI consistency, AI clutter and preinstalled content.

Microsoft is using SteamOS and app “File Pilot” as benchmarks​

Windows Central claims K2 targets gaming performance, with SteamOS used as a benchmark.

Microsoft reportedly wants Windows gaming performance to be comparable on the same hardware within the next one to two years.


Windows K2 plan (based on Windows Central claims)​

  • Better Windows 11 performance
  • Better reliability and fewer update issues
  • Lower idle memory use and smaller OS footprint
  • Less AI clutter and less preinstalled content
  • Faster File Explorer navigation, search, and file handling
  • More responsive context menus, Start menu, and Taskbar
  • Gaming performance closer to SteamOS on the same hardware
  • Fewer required restarts, with a goal of one restart per month
  • Driver updates handled during restart instead of active use
  • Movable and resizable Taskbar options
  • More WinUI 3 use across Windows system interfaces
  • New WinUI 3 System Compositor to reduce latency and memory overhead
  • Rebuilt Start menu, reportedly up to 60% faster
  • More Start menu customization
  • Removal of Start menu ads
  • MSN no longer shown by default in the Widgets Board
  • Higher quality bar before features reach public preview builds
  • More direct Windows team communication with users and Insiders
Source: Windows Central

What is Windows K2? Inside Microsoft’s big plan to save Windows 11 and win back trust from users.​

News
By Zac Bowden published 26 April 2026
Microsoft has restructured its Windows team to better position Windows 11 as a strong platform that people should want to use. Here's how it's going about that.

https://www.windowscentral.com/micr...everything-you-need-to-know-saving-windows-11


Source: VideoCardz.com
https://videocardz.com/newz/microso...ndows-11-bloat-and-improve-gaming-performance
 

"We currently only support Steam and EGS stores for PC": A major upcoming sequel ditches Xbox PC and Xbox Play Anywhere — is this an emerging trend?​

News
By Jez Corden published 1 hour ago
Aliens: Fireteam Elite was a surprise win for Xbox PC and Play Anywhere a few years ago. The sequel has not only ditched Play Anywhere, but Xbox PC all up.

increasingly, it looks like developers are only willing to join the Xbox PC store with some form of upfront marketing deal, as opposed to organically. It's another Xbox problem for Asha Sharma to solve, as part of a growing list.

Xbox PC is key to Microsoft's gaming future​

Steam doesn't have to ask any dev to come to its platform. It's the de facto default store for variety core gaming, and that doesn't look set to change any time soon — even if younger cohorts armed with Roblox continue to eat into the traditional user bases. Microsoft is gunning for a slice of this PC pie, and it has pretty huge advantages. Xbox PC comes pre-installed on Windows 11. It's giving developers an 88% cut of the revenue, rather than Steam's 70% cut. The initial dev fees have also been removed, too.

I'm told footfall through Xbox PC is higher than that of the Epic Game Store, but Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will be day one on Epic's platform ... and won't launch at all on Xbox PC, Xbox Play Anywhere or not.

Are developers potentially holding Microsoft hostage for Xbox Game Pass money here? It could be a double-edged sword in essence. Getting a Game Pass deal has helped Microsoft grow the Xbox PC store very rapidly, but on the downside, both users and developers seem to see it as a "Game Pass" store, rather than an organic, traditional PC store. Microsoft has trained its users to wait for Xbox / PC Game Pass drops on the Xbox PC app, and it has trained developers to only show up in exchange for a Game Pass deal. I'm not sure that's sustainable long term.

https://www.windowscentral.com/gami...sequel-ditches-xbox-pc-and-xbox-play-anywhere
 
Microsoft would like to focus on XBOX as a platform

which means first party console games on Xbox instead of PlayStation & first party PC games on XBOX PC app rather than steam

Marees said:

Every Xbox Game Now Comes With Free PlayFab Services​

Launch your game on Xbox and enjoy cross-platform services for all your players, available now.


During GDC this week, Xbox introduced Foundation Mode, a new option that gives Xbox creators access to PlayFab's core game services across platforms at no extra cost. Any game that ships on Xbox can use PlayFab for all of its players, no matter where they play, and developers don't need an Azure subscription to get started.

connecting backend services across multiple platforms can mean complicated onboarding, separate accounts, and a lot of engineering work, and PlayFab is that complete backend platform for live games.

Foundation Mode covers a single unified player account that works across Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Epic, and mobile. It also supports cross-platform game saves, player profiles, and player statistics. On top of that, it includes social and multiplayer features like friends lists, leaderboards, real-time voice and text chat, lobbies, and matchmaking, and developers can also manage live services, in-game economies, and other backend systems all in one place.

Foundation Mode has entered public preview for new titles planning to launch on the Xbox Store. To enable it, you can request access by following the steps described here. A migration path for existing titles is expected to be available by mid-2026.

Learn more about PlayFab

https://80.lv/articles/every-xbox-game-now-comes-with-free-playfab-services
Click to expand...

DrezKill said:
Looks like Microsoft is extending their back-compat program (which covers original Xbox and Xbox 360 games running on XB1 and XBSX|S) to PC: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/07/22/xbox-backward-compatibility-on-pc/
Starting out with just 4 original Xbox games. I hope Microsoft ends up making Xbox 360 games available as well.

This would have been good to have when I bought Crimson Skies a few years ago. After testing it on my original Xbox I played through it on my XB1. Well now I can play it on PC too. Officially I mean, cuz Xbox emulation has always been an option. Same for X360.
Click to expand...

Marees said:
pretty soon, subject to license restrictions & tie ups

View attachment 818394

https://x.com/RetroGamer_74/status/2083595754438807900?s=20
Click to expand...
HOprSyQWkAAmcJ0.jpeg

Marees said:
A BIG elephant in the room with Xbox Helix: An "open" console means BIG price point.

ANALYSIS:

https://windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-helix-and-steam-and-why-it-no-longer-makes-sense (with Xbox Ally user behavior info.)

With the RAMpocalypse, PlayStation quitting Steam, and younger gamers choosing mobile games

... does Steam on Helix even make sense anymore?

https://x.com/JezCorden/status/2082185478577717460?s=20

Xbox Helix and Steam — and why it no longer makes sense​

News
By Jez Corden
Published 29 July 2026
One of the coolest new features of the next-gen Xbox is the promise of PC-like openness. But ... does it still make sense from a strategic point of view? Does it still fit Xbox's wider plan under Asha? Let's discuss.

I've been told Xbox is losing around $150~ per Xbox Series X|S sold recently due to memory price increases, and will continue to lose money per device even after the planned August 2026 price hike. Now imagine 50% or more of those Xbox Series X|S users bypassed the Xbox ecosystem and went straight to Steam to buy games. The margins would be even worse, without any form of software sales subsidy. Xbox wouldn't have a business at all.​
​
If an Xbox Ally user was also an Xbox console owner, around a quarter of those users also made purchases on the Xbox PC ecosystem. However, if the Xbox Ally owner was not an Xbox console owner, that figure dropped to a measly 2%. ​
Suggesting that almost 100% of non-Xbox owning, new Xbox Ally owners simply went straight to Steam.​

As an "open" PC, Xbox Helix could end up being absurdly expensive​

PlayStation has pulled out of PC/Steam, eliminating one potential major advantage​

The memory crisis breaks the economics: open consoles would be priced like high-end PCs​


If Xbox Helix simply became a defacto "Steambox" for new users, the profitability would have to come out of the upfront hardware cost, otherwise Microsoft stands to potentially lose millions on the hardware ecosystem in general.
Click to expand...
 
Xbox is not ditching Steam, but it is doubling down on its own PC gaming ecosystem in a big way.

https://windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/no-xbox-isnt-quitting-steam-but-it-is-doubling-down-on-pc-gaming-heres-how

Here's what we know about how Xbox plans to show up on PC now and in the future.

No, Xbox isn't quitting Steam — but it IS doubling down on PC gaming. Here's how.​

News
By Jez Corden
Published 3 hours ago
Xbox's PC offering has improved immeasurably over the last few years, and while it isn't indicative of a shift away from Steam, it does show how seriously Microsoft is taking PC gaming.

Something I said on our Xbox Two Podcast this weekend was taken a little bit out of context by some news aggregates, and it led to rumors that Microsoft was exploring quitting Steam. They are absolutely not exploring that (right now), but there is good reason to think Microsoft is evaluating how it engages with Windows gaming all up.​
​
None of it means Xbox will walk away from Steam; there's simply too much money to be left on the table. PC has long been a place of platform plurality, and Xbox is seemingly embracing that aspect of Windows gaming in a big way.​
​
​
If it works, could Microsoft look to a future where it focuses on its own platforms rather than Steam or Epic Games? It's perhaps a window at best, but not likely in the medium or even long term. But given how Microsoft is pressuring Xbox to deliver bigger margins at all costs, I suspect today's incarnation of Xbox would be less philosophically inclined towards supporting Steam if it felt it didn't have to. But that's just my (potentially cynical) opinion.​
 
reginaldbelvarion said:
I think Microsoft is slowly shifting from selling a specific console to selling an ecosystem. If your Xbox library follows you between a console, handheld, PC, and cloud streaming, then the hardware almost becomes secondary.

Steam is still going to be difficult to compete with because people have invested years into their libraries. I don't think Microsoft needs to replace Steam though. If Windows becomes the best place to play regardless of where you bought your games, that might be enough.

That's probably the bigger goal here. Instead of asking people to choose between Xbox or PC, they're trying to make Xbox part of PC gaming.
Click to expand...
Microsoft has been trying to make Xbox an ecosystem and it isn't working. Same reason why Epic can't compete against Steam, because Valve has made Steam very friendly to use and exists on Linux and MacOS. You can even get game keys from other sources and use them in Steam. Microsoft's goal is to make sure that Xbox and PC have a blurred line, which is something they should have done from the start with Xbox.
 
DukenukemX said:
Microsoft has been trying to make Xbox an ecosystem and it isn't working. Same reason why Epic can't compete against Steam, because Valve has made Steam very friendly to use and exists on Linux and MacOS. You can even get game keys from other sources and use them in Steam. Microsoft's goal is to make sure that Xbox and PC have a blurred line, which is something they should have done from the start with Xbox.
Click to expand...

The biggest problem for these other platforms is they don’t solve anything for the user that Steam hasn’t already solved, GOG notwithstanding. I don’t know why I would use Epic when I already use Steam, the latter of which has a better interface and great customer service.
 
HockeyJon said:
The biggest problem for these other platforms is they don’t solve anything for the user that Steam hasn’t already solved, GOG notwithstanding. I don’t know why I would use Epic when I already use Steam, the latter of which has a better interface and great customer service.
Click to expand...
GOG is the only note worthy alternative because it offers something that Steam doesn't. What's the point of making an online game store if it's only going to be worse than Steam?
 
HockeyJon said:
The biggest problem for these other platforms is they don’t solve anything for the user that Steam hasn’t already solved, GOG notwithstanding. I don’t know why I would use Epic when I already use Steam, the latter of which has a better interface and great customer service.
Click to expand...
This is the biggest thing.

"different" doesn't mean "better"

Valve keeps making Steam the best it can be, with no part of the design being held ransom for "shareholder value". No publicly traded company would implement no-questions-asked refunds, same-page review aggregation, community-made mod projects, etc. It's all things that an investor would look at and piss themselves in fear. And as such, Valve has built a platform that treats the customer like the.... customer.

Any other platform has to match these VERY Shareholder-toxic features as a bare minimum to exist. And THEN they have to offer something above and beyond to actually be considered as an option.
 
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