I'm sorry guys, but I can't seriously believe Microsoft's store could ever be a threat to GOG or Steam. They have nothing to offer over those services (PC Gamers don't care about xbox), and they're already established.

Consider the audience at GOG: GOG is full of old school PC gamers that also are against DRM. They are informed users for the most part. Now why would anyone that is informed and be against DRM want to use Microsoft's store?

Then consider the audience at Steam: Again, a big chunk of them are primarily PC gamers. People on Steam don't care so much about DRM, but they do want Valve's games and community content from the workshop. There are many many exclusives on Steam that will never appear anywhere else, as well as many more to come. Again, I don't see these people switching to Microsoft's store.

So yeah, I don't think of Windows 10's store being a threat to Steam and GOG as a serious question. Sorry.

Edit:

And as someone who has used Windows 8 and Windows 10, I never even use the store. Couldn't care less, it's mostly crap on there. Upon installation it immediately gets unpinned and hidden. I'm sure many other people do as well.

Ditto. There's no advantage to "upgrading" to a system that monitors everything you do and sends it to microsoft. There seems to be a significant number of people who are happy with win7. Microsoft is going to have to work very, very hard to force people to get what is really only a slight improvement on the disastrous win8.

Win10 a threat to GOG and Steam? Doubtful. More likely a threat to everyone who's using it!

That highly depends on how Microsoft plays its cards. Microsoft has the money to get companies to add store support in addition to Steam, if it will think it's a good strategic choice.

For many people Steam is nothing but a convenient store and client. They don't care about the community content or other stuff, they just want to buy their games and play them. They stick to Steam because it's convenient to have most games in one place.

All Microsoft needs it to wedge itself in, make people buy from its store. This it can do with exclusives. Then if it has other worthwhile games and sales for them, people might consider buying there. Of course for that Microsoft would have to decide that becoming an important game store is important and invest in it.

I'm fine with all of that, just don't touch my pie.

They would also be spending more money on education and less on the military, if they had any sense or moral code.
And they wouldn't use Facebook if they had a sense about the Internet, but many do, because "Neuland".

Using Institutions/Governments/Companies as a particularly high standard isn't very wise in most cases. ;)

Figured I'd give this a bump, as Windows 10 passes 200 million installs (according to the latest info) it appears that Rise of the Tomb Raider will be the first big AAA game that the Windows store will have that directly competes with Steam. Assuming of course Steam even get's it. Releasing in January.

https://twitter.com/windowsstore/status/681953722872782851

..yawn..

Yes, it will.

Heh, another competitor on the block, Steam. It is time for you to actually buckle up and be competent too for your high throne will not rest for a long time...

The arrival of any new potential competitor to Steam is a positive thing.

Right now, i'd say that GOG is the biggest threat to GOG.

I think quite the opposite, with their latest moves (making office available to android and ios) Microsoft will try a different, more positive approach - they will let you have all of your choices and variations intact (as for example using ms office on linux), but at the same time will show you how much easier and effortless is to use a whole Microsoft ecosystem (e.g. to use ms office on the phone, the pc, the tablet and the TV all working with MS software)

Good to know, I head something but didn't know if it was 100% confirmed or not.

Earlier two things occurred to me about that cross-buy thing:

1) When you buy the game from the Windows Store and receive the XBox version as a bonus (that's how it works, right?), is the price still comparable to the PC-only version on other stores like Steam, or are you paying a high premium price for that bonus of getting it for two architectures?

2) Could other stores, like Steam. come up with something comparable? Like that buying it from Steam would grant you also the PS4 version, or vice versa? I'd be surprised if there weren't at least such plans at either Sony or Valve (or EA Origin, UPlay, who knows...).

I personally don't care about that particular cross-buy thing as I am not thinking of buying a new console (so they are as useful to me as the Mac versions of GOG games), but getting both a PC and Android versions of many games for the same low price has definitely been an advantage on Humble Bundle. I guess it is a bit similar thing.


Overall, this is interesting news as finally we have a proof Microsoft has other plans for Windows Store besides just selling some simple "mobile apps" through it that you can then run also on Windows, which is what many suggested earlier when the service originally started out on Windows 8/RT. "It will not compete with Steam" etc. etc.