In April 2012, we asked Microsoft if they had any plans to discontinue their Games for Windows Live online gaming service in favor of their Xbox Live support for Windows 8. At that time, we were sent a statement that said, "Answer is no, Microsoft continues to support the Games for Windows platform, but we are making new investments in Metro style games."
It's been about nine months since that time, and things have changed in terms of Microsoft's PC game support. The company's two free-to-play PC games, Microsoft Flight and Age of Empires Online, have since announced that they will no longer add new content to each game, although they are still playable online.
Microsoft has also launched Windows 8 and has published a number of games for the "Modern" UI, including Skulls of the Shogun this week which has cross-platform multiplayer with its Windows Phone 8, Windows RT and Xbox 360 counterparts.
Most importantly, it's looking like no third party PC games will be using Games for Windows Live anymore. Launched in 2007, the service, which added Xbox Live achievements, leaderboards and more, was used by over 70 games by Microsoft and a number of third party developers and publishers.
Last week, Namco Bandai released Ace Combat: Assault Horizon – Enhanced Edition, the latest game that supports Games for Windows Live. At the moment, there are no upcoming games that have been announced that will support the service. So does that mean that we have seen the last Games for Windows Live game? Unfortunately, Microsoft is not talking. In a statement to Neogamr, the company said,"At this time, we have nothing to share on the future of Games for Windows Live."
6 Comments - Add comment