All Xbox games aren't coming to PC after all, Microsoft confirms

Microsoft has just changed up the rules of its new cross-platform Play Anywhere functionality, iterating that Xbox console exclusives will still be available and not all first-party titles will jump to PC.

According to new alterations made to Xbox exec Yusuf Medhi's famous blog post, the new Play Anywhere service won't include all future Microsoft Studios games. With Play Anywhere gamers unlock a free digital Windows 10 version when they purchase specific digital console games, effectively giving a two-for-one deal. This new revision means upcoming titles like Halo 6 aren't guaranteed to come to PC.

The new revision states that only "new titles published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year will support Xbox Play Anywhere," which is a pretty big jump from the original which clearly states "every new Microsoft Studios game" will support Play Anywhere.

Original:

"With the Xbox Play Anywhere program, you can buy a game once and play on your Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and shared achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store."

Revised:

"With the Xbox Play Anywhere program, you can buy a game once and play on your Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and shared achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store."

So there you have it: Microsoft isn't giving up on Xbox console exclusives after all. Despite Xbox becoming a service, Redmond isn't about to spill its entire catalog of games onto Windows 10 PCs. That could happen sometime in the future with a subscription service, but some hit franchises--like Halo--will likely forever be console-exclusive.

It looks like Microsoft isn't too keen on talking its way out of Xbox One sales after all, especially with the new 4K-ready Xbox One S releasing next month.

Honestly I'm not surprised they backpedaled, and I'm not surprised they took so long to do it. Soaking up all that goodwill from PC gamers and generating tons of buzz was a double-edged sword, as gamers saw no reason to buy an Xbox console. It'll be interesting to see how the company addresses this on their official social media streams, especially given everyone in the gaming sphere is expecting to get free PC copies of forthcoming first-party Xbox games.