Throughout the 8-ification of Windows, Microsoft clearly failed to endear its OS to PC gamers. Above all else, Window 8's root-level Windows Store, and its unclear messaging on how it would coexist with other gaming software, was so bad that it lit a fire under Gabe Newell's ass to create an entirely new, competing OS built off of Steam.
It has been a long time since Microsoft was seen as an all-out winner in the "keep PC gamers happy" department. Sure, DirectX laid down the groundwork for the headache-free, high-end gaming we've enjoyed for over a decade—when's the last time you had to adjust IRQ and DMC settings for your sound card, for instance? But those are some long laurels to pin your reputation to at this point. Today, Microsoft is better known to PC gamers for Games For Windows, the Windows Store, and 2012's unclear Xbox Games On Windows initiative. What have you done for PC gamers lately, Microsoft?
Windows 10 brings two major initiatives intended to turn things around on this score. The first is DirectX 12, whose performance boosts, processor multi-threading optimizations, and Windows 10 exclusivity will be scrutinized in another article on Ars very soon. The second, which this article will focus on, is deeper Xbox integration than any Windows before it, by way of a major app and new features that connect console and PC players on the online gaming service. Because Microsoft has confused people in the past about Xbox features on computers, we have spent a little over a week fiddling around with the RTM version of Windows 10 to answer every Xbox-specific question you might have.
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