Xbox’s Embrace of PC Gaming

Xbox has been making headlines over the last few years, for better or worse. From the massive acquisition of Activision Blizzard to the continuous layoffs following it, the Microsoft giants can’t seem to catch a break. 

The head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, continues to lead the company in exciting new directions that will hopefully keep the brand alive. Starting off as a console gaming experience with Halo, it appears to be embracing the PC Gaming side of things more. 

Spencer is doing everything in his power to not only sell Xbox games but also have players across nearly every platform enjoy them.

The company was already PC friendly with superior perks for the platform on Game Pass, but could Microsoft go all in and ditch console gaming entirely?

Xbox’s Easy Relationship With The PC Community

Microsoft is no stranger to the PC platform as the company owns Windows, the mainstay operating system for PC Gaming. There was once a time when Xbox Game Studios titles were console exclusives. Projects like Dead Rising 3 and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition launched only on the Xbox One before finding a place on PC a year later. 

In fact, certain games still live only on the console, like Halo 5: Guardians, never receiving a PC port. It only started in 2016 where any game developed under Xbox Game Studios launched on both Xbox One and PC.

Games like Gears of War 4 and Halo Wars 2 did this, and the rest has been history. Recent games such as Hellblade 2 and Forza Motorsport (2023) did this, and future releases are following suit. 

While there hasn’t been a definitive answer as to why Microsoft started doing dual releases across PC and Xbox, if you were around for that console generation, you might know why. The Microsoft console, Xbox One, sales paled in comparison to Sony’s PlayStation 4. 

The whole debacle at E3 2013 put the nail on the head for the Xbox One. At first, an always online device with no used games. PlayStation did the complete opposite which effectively dunked on Microsoft. The same can be said for the Nintendo Switch, which still has tons of fans.

Why is Xbox So PC-Platform Friendly?

In theory, in an effort to save face, games started to appear on PC a year or so later before the now simultaneous releases. Microsoft wanted to tap into the PC market with millions of players.

Furthermore, because Microsoft owns Windows, creating games to simultaneously release on both platforms isn’t as difficult as porting to PlayStation or a Nintendo console. 

The acquisition of companies like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard has allowed Microsoft to make moves across PC Gaming and Game Pass. Bethesda already has a good relationship on PC but its newest project, Starfield, launched day one on Game Pass. Activision Blizzard is looking to do the same with the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 later this year.

Although it’s amazing to see the service thrive in bringing players day one releases on PC and Xbox, the service is leaning more towards one side over the other. 

Xbox’s Game Pass – For PC or Console Players?

The well-known Microsoft service gets players to pay a flat fee every month to enjoy hundreds of new and exciting games. While the value of the product at first was a steal, price increases and changes between the tiers shows that Xbox Game Pass is becoming more about the PC players. 

Game Pass Ultimate is $19.99 which allows the service to be used on both PC and console with the inclusion of day one releases like Hellblade 2 and the soon to be Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in December. 

However, any console Game Pass tier below Ultimate does not offer day one releases. Only online play and a catalog of games. On PC though, the base tier for $11.99 still offers day one releases. This tier is missing the console components but if you’re only PC Gaming and don’t own an Xbox, Game Pass is still amazing for you.

Console players who wish to take advantage of day one drops have to pay almost twice what the PC community is paying. With the upcoming Indiana Jones game already announced for a PlayStation 5 release in Spring 2025, it appears Phil Spencer is jumping ship on the console market for Xbox.

If Microsoft decides to pull out of the console game, they will still be a powerhouse in the games industry. Maybe not in contention for the console war but providing games to players across every platform. 

What are your thoughts on Xbox’s friendly relationship with PC Gaming? Do you see more Microsoft consoles in the next decade? Let us know in the comments what you think!