Microsoft will close down its Games for Windows Live service in less than a year, it’s been revealed.
According to a support update from Microsoft itself, which has since been deleted from the Xbox support website, the PC gaming service will be discontinued from July 1 2014.
On an update for the Age of Empires Online support page, Microsoft claimed that “Games for Windows Live will be discontinued on July 1, 2014. Although it is available through Steam, Age of Empires Online requires features of the Games for Windows Live service. You can continue to enjoy all the features of Age of Empires Online as the service will remain 100% operational until July 1, 2014 when the server will shut down.”
The company announced only last week that its Games for Windows Marketplace would shut down on August 22, but that Games for Windows Live would continue to operate as usual.
Games for Windows Live allows PC gamers to connect to the Xbox Live ecosystem, unlocking Xbox-like achievements, using your avatar, tracking your friends and contributing to your Gamerscore. It has not been a success, with numerous third party game publishers opting to drop support for the platform in recent times.
Last week it was announced that Microsoft had hired Jason Holtman from Valve, who was one of the main guiding hands behind the massively successful Steam digitial distribution and PC gaming community service. His job will be “focusing on making Windows a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment.”
Evidently this involves scrapping the company’s current failed efforts in the PC gaming space and introducing something entirely new.
Next, read our Xbox One vs PS4 comparison feature.
Via: Polygon
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
