There are a number of things that bug me about Microsoft's PC gaming push. Whether it's inconsistent versions across platforms, spotty developer support, or other types of usability complaints, the Xbox PC app still needs a lot of work.
This bugs me big time. The naming schemes for games when they have separate versions for PC is baffling and looks super lazy like they don't care at all. I thought Microsoft would push for Play Anywhere support more from devs but it seems like they do not have any control over their platform.
They paid for a Game Pass deal for Tales of Arise but then we have "Tales of Arise (Xbox One)" and "Tales of Arise (Xbox Series S|X)" and "Tales of Arise (Windows)" all as separate versions of the games you need to buy individually. What was the point of paying for the Game Pass deal if you can't even get them to implement it properly using the marquis features of the platform? Smart Delivery and Xbox Play Anywhere were things they were patting themselves on the back for not too long ago. What happened here?
If they are going to allow it then at least have them name the games in a way that is consistent. Minecraft does it the best IMO. "Minecraft for Windows" is clean and separates it from "Minecraft for iOS" or "Minecraft for Android." I probably care about this more than a person should but I use this platform a lot so I see a lot of this stuff.
I also notice really stupidly named games all the time. Like Remnant 2 has "- Standard Edition" hard coded into the game title so that's what it shows as no matter which edition you actually bought and that's what it is in the achievements too. It looks very stupid, and I feel like MS should be catching that sort of thing and making them name things correctly.
Inscryption works with Xbox and plays on PC like it's an Play Anywhere title but it just...doesn't show up in the Xbox app at all? On the flip side, Don't Starve Together shows up in the Xbox app on my PC but it actually does not support PC so it shouldn't be there.
Finally I have no idea why games will appear in my library but then also the bundle shows up in my library as a separate entry entirely? So I have Forza Horizon 3 (the actual game) in my library but then also Forza Horizon 3 Ultimate Edition (the bundle I bought the game in) also in my library as a separate entry. They are even marked as Bundle in the app so it clearly knows they are not games! Bundles should not appear in my library! The game should and that's it!
They really need to pay attention to finer details if they want Xbox to be a core gaming platform on PC. The PC experience has definitely gotten a lot better but it also looks sloppy and lazy in a lot of ways. I put all these things into the Feedback Hub but I am pretty sure that's where feedback goes to die.
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