Xbox Boss: We Weren’t Fully Committed to PC Gaming, But That’s Changing Now

Ahead of Microsoft’s appearance at the PC Gaming Show at E3 later this month, Xbox executive Phil Spencer has pledged to gamers that the mistakes of Games for Windows Live won’t be repeated with Windows 10. Speaking with PC Gamer, which is hosting the event with Microsoft as a co-sponsor, Spencer started off by recalling the struggles of Microsoft’s PC gaming past.

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“We weren’t fully committed as a company, and I’ve said that before. We made commitments to developers and consumers that I don’t feel we lived up to,” he said when asked about Games for Windows Live. “The key difference now is that the Xbox team is driving the Windows and console gaming efforts as one connected ecosystem.”

If gaming on Windows 10 falls short, it won’t be for lack of effort or resources.

“I can tell you definitively that our team has never committed more resources to making Windows better for game developers and gamers, and that means any gamer on Windows 10, regardless of storefront or device,” Spencer explained.

“Windows is the most popular platform for games in the world and we are committed to doing more,” he added. “Xbox needs to deliver meaningful, measurable improvements for games and gamers–both for existing games and services and new titles.”

Asked if Microsoft’s internal development teams, as part of the company’s overall renewed focus on PC gaming, would develop PC-exclusive games, Spencer promised support for the platform, but didn’t make any promises.

“The charter of Microsoft Studios is to develop games that showcase the best of every Windows device,” he said. “You can absolutely count on us to invest in games for the PC. While we want to break down the walls between platforms, we also know that certain games are optimized for certain devices.”

Of course a question about new Halo games coming to PC also came up in the interview. Spencer reminded fans that Halo has a history of supporting PC with games like Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox and Windows 98; Halo 2 for PC; and Halo: Spartan Assault and Spartan Strike for Windows 8.

“There’s definitely a legacy there,” Spencer said. “So no, we wouldn’t rule out more Halo coming to the PC.”

Read the full PC Gamer interview here.

The first-ever PC Gaming Show at E3 will be held Tuesday, June 16, starting at 5 PM PDT. GameSpot will have all the news from the show as it’s announced.

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