Microsoft could be looking towards offering a version of its Windows PC operating system completely in the cloud for consumers. That's according to recently revealed internal documents that were filed by the US Federal Trade Commission in its current court battle with Microsoft over its plan to acquire game publisher Activision Blizzard.
The FTC filing (via Windows Central) shows a heavily redacted Microsoft document dated June 2022. In a slide labeled "Modern Life strategy and priorities", it shows the company's fiscal year 2022 goals of increasing growth in Windows 11 PCs along with online services like Microsoft 365, Xbox Game Pass, and more.
However, in a section with the name "Long Term Needle-Moving Opportunities," we get a glimpse of Microsoft's possible future plans for Windows. It states:
Move Windows 11 increasingly to the cloud: Build on Windows 365 to enable a full Windows operating system streamed from the cloud to any device. Use the power of the cloud and client to enable improved AI-powered services and full roaming of people's digital experience.
This possible future for the Windows business should not be a huge surprise. Microsoft has been trying to move other products like its Office lineup of productivity software to the cloud for years, followed by its Xbox and PC games via its Xbox Cloud gaming (a.k.a. XCloud). Offering a full Windows PC experience for the consumer at a monthly subscription price is the logical next step. Indeed, Insider versions of Windows 11 have added Cloud PC options to Settings.
We will point out that this internal document was created a number of months before Microsoft decided to go all in on generative AI products like the current Bing Chat and its Copilot features for Windows and Microsoft 365, among others. Offering a full Windows experience on the cloud may not be as big of a priority for the company now as it was a year ago at this time.
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