When Microsoft announced just a few weeks before its launch that Quantum Break, which was originally designated as an Xbox One exclusive, would also be released for the PC in early April, Xbox fans weren’t happy. And that’s unlikely to change with the latest rumor doing the rounds either, as it could be that even more games that were originally only available on Xbox will soon be playable on PC as well.
Some of the games that Microsoft is said to be considering for the platform jump include Forza Motorsport 6, Gears of War 4, and Scalebound, with the first of these being the only one of the trio to have already been released on the platform. Although Gears has a strong pedigree on Xbox, the fact that Scalebound was originally teased several years ago and is now coming to PC too, may irk those who bought the console with that game in mind.
There’s also a suggestion that an as-yet unannounced Forza Horizons 3 could also end up as a cross-platform release.
Microsoft has stated that Quantum Break won’t debut on Steam when released and will instead only be sold through the Windows Store, so there is still some exclusivity. Presumably any other cross platform games would also be sold through there, rather than on Steam.
None of this is a certainty by any means, and it comes from the Chinese site WPDang (via WindowsCentral), so take it with a pinch of salt, but it does make sense in many ways. Microsoft has — in trying to placate all of its gaming consumers — promised more support for PC gaming, which it admits it has not been as focused on in recent years.
On top of that, much of Microsoft’s hardware/software strategy in the last couple of years has involved platform unification. Linking up phones, tablets, and consoles together under one operating system has a lot of advantages, one of them being that games that were previously only compatible with the Xbox One could well work on PC too.
What are some of the games you would like to see on Windows that previously have been Xbox One exclusives?