Xbox is aggressively pushing to integrate more features into its PC app, but it may have just leaked a new one that few might've expected.
Recently, we exclusively revealed Project Kennan, Microsoft's partner handheld with ASUS. The device is the first as part of a new program at Xbox, which looks to OEM partners traditionally associated with Windows PCs, to build the future of Windows gaming hardware.
Anyone that has used a device like a Lenovo Legion Go or ASUS ROG Ally knows full well that the interface experience is far removed from something like the Steam Deck. Windows just isn't designed for this type of experience, but that's gradually changing.
Microsoft baked in new features to its Xbox Game Bar, including compact mode, and also incorporated the ability to use Windows' on-screen keyboard with a controller just recently. But this latest "leak" seems to be taking a big leap ahead.
Spotted by The Verge, a Microsoft blog posted, and then removed, the above graphic detailing Microsoft's efforts to court developers into a multi-endpoint gaming ecosystem. Upon closer inspection, you can see an interesting feature Microsoft's Xbox app game library doesn't yet have — a Steam filter.
See, the Xbox Game Bar already does have the ability to launch recent Steam games when you set it into compact mode. From there, it can already detect Steam games available on your system, and will launch them when selected. I've recently been playing Final Fantasy 7 Remake this way on my Lenovo Legion Go, for example. However, the Xbox app itself does not have this functionality, and certainly not the ability to detect your entire Steam library.
It could also be a big mistake, or something "aspirational" on the part of the designer who mocked up the interface. It could also be something much bigger, hinting at the long-rumored partnership between Microsoft and Valve to bring stores like Steam to Xbox consoles itself. The fact there are Xbox consoles in this image certainly suggests to me that Microsoft wants you to think the interface in the rear view is, in fact, part of Xbox. It could also very much just be a big mistake.
Indeed, The Verge noted that Microsoft removed the image after they begun inquiries into its significance.
Does it mean anything?
If I had to guess, Microsoft is gearing up to overhaul the library section of the Xbox app on PC. The game library section is arguably its weakest "feature" right now, surfacing dead Windows Phone games in its "owned" filter, while lacking the ability to hide dead beta tests or demos. Microsoft has already begun integrating Steam with the compact version of the Xbox Game Bar. Xbox lead Phil Spencer has talked about in interviews how he wants partner devices, like Kennan, the ROG Ally, etc. to feel as close to an Xbox console experience as possible.
Microsoft is working hard to integrate Xbox and Windows game development more closely into the future. Windows Central understands that traditional Win32 will be the preferred development environment for the next mainline Xbox consoles, with Xbox One/Series X|S "ERA" environment gradually phased out. Where that leaves our existing library of Xbox ERA games remains to be seen, but it seems emulation is one avenue Microsoft is exploring for backward compatibility and game preservation.
Will that allow those games to run on Windows devices like Kennan and the ROG Ally, or any average gaming PC, though? It's hard to say, because there are some legal hurdles contractually about exactly what Microsoft is allowed to do with third-party titles in its store.
We've asked Microsoft to comment on the above, but things are certainly getting interesting here, either way.
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