Microsoft wants to make the Xbox app the home of PC gaming (new UI and almost 400 new games added to the app)

Microsoft is updating the Xbox app on Windows today with hundreds of previously unavailable PC games and a new home experience. This is part of a larger effort to make the Xbox app the place to find PC games, whether they’re part of PC Game Pass or not. “Earlier this summer, we began working with partners to integrate all PC games with Xbox features into the Xbox app,” says Chris Charla, general manager of content curation and programs at Xbox. “We’re very excited to see which Xbox games will be available on Windows PC from game creators in the future and to welcome nearly 400 titles that were previously not discoverable or purchasable in the Xbox app. »

What’s not immediately clear from Microsoft’s blog post is what exactly “bringing all PC games with Xbox features into the Xbox app” means. Microsoft has been trying to attract game developers to its Windows store in recent years, even lowering its share from 30% to just 12% to try to shake up PC gaming. Despite these efforts, there are many PC games that have cross-play between the Xbox version and the PC version of the game, but are not currently part of the Microsoft Store or the Xbox app. Microsoft now appears to be working on bringing even more of these games into the Xbox app, and it will be interesting to see if the company soon takes the bold step of listing Steam, Epic Games Store, or itch.io games in the Xbox app as well . Microsoft says it will have more to say about its Xbox app plans at the Game Developers Conference in March.