Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wants PC gaming stores on Xbox

[Windows Central]

In an interview, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer that he'd like to see PC gaming stores on Xbox consoles.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wants PC gaming stores on Xbox : Read more

 

[fdruid]

I have an idea. Just make the next console be a PC with a custom interface. Win/win. Unified platform, people still use PC, etc.
Steam PCs was not a bad idea after all.

 

[Gabe Szabo]

To be clear, he wasn't walking about "the" Epic Games Store being on consoles as is. He was talking about how he would like to see alternative storefronts available on consoles where you could purchase digital content.

In this "dream scenario", none of the games on the current Epic Games Store would be compatible with an Xbox console, but Epic would be able to sell games, probably even exclusively in their own store. I'm guessing in this scenario Microsoft could still take a portion of the games sold on alternative storefronts, just as we currently see the response from Apple to the EU DMA.

Actually though, this would require quite a few pieces of the puzzle to work from a technical standpoint: there would need to be a way to allow games originating from alternative storefronts (whitelist alternative public key signatures), an SDK to allow publishing games and supply the alternative storefront with content, the alternative storefront would need to call as-of-yet nonexistent system APIs and Microsoft's online APIs, and so on. Sure, it's technically possible, but a huge bit of work. I see this statement as more of a general "we're open to where the market wants us to go to, including the possibility of alternative storefronts". I'm guessing they're talking about the possibilities and viability of these alternatives nowadays.

 

[fjtorres5591]

That was my read. Spencer wasn't talking about PC games but about other stores selling. XBOX games on the console.

Right now Amazon and others sell XBOX games via digital codes but with Spencer's idea you'd buy the game and it would instantly install without having to enter the digital code. It shouldn't be hard to implement if all they do is via a separate store app (like Amazon's app store on amazon). All it requires it the app to access the user's game authentication list. The game coud install off the existing XBOX store just as Amazon Kindle fullfill's library rentals from the KDP store. Not hard. MS could collect a small vig (5%?) from the alternate store.

(Given that he said that to POLYGON it might be a dig at SONY's court case in the UK.)

Makes sense because different stores have different deals with the publishers and run their own sales at different times.

Now, running PC games on XBOXes is a doable option via a dual boot app (extra cost, of course) to run full windows the way developer mode toggles. It would be most valuable for old PC games that don't exist as XBOX games.