The next Xbox is (almost certainly) going to have Steam support, as Microsoft returns to its "PC for the living room" strategy of the original Xbox.
Microsoft alumni have been hinting for a few years now that their long-term plan for Xbox is to merge its Windows PC and Xbox audiences into a singularity, boosting Windows' usability in the living room, while merging developer environments to streamline delivery. The task to achieve this vision is mammoth, though. Legacy Windows 11 systems are simply not designed to be used on a TV, from a sofa, or with an Xbox controller.
To refactor Windows for more traditional "it just works" console gaming requires a level of execution that cannot be understated, but the potential is plainly obvious. A system that can download mods, run Steam games, access third-party launchers such as the Riot Client or HoYoverse launcher, access full-fat Windows tools, VPNs, accessories, and beyond — while also being living room friendly — is a bit of a gaming holy grail of sorts. Even if you're not a traditional console gamer, having an Xbox as a companion PC for the living room might become a truly viable option when Xbox Gen 10 kicks off, which we expect to see in 2027.
For existing Xbox customers, though, it potentially solves a widening content gap that Microsoft itself has exacerbated, when it agreed to start publishing Xbox exclusive titles on PlayStation last year. Logically, PlayStation and PC now have the advantage of enjoying a wider variety of games than Xbox fans locked to the Series X|S platform, including Sony's own exclusives such as Helldivers 2, God of War, and The Last Of Us.
But, the next Xbox could change that.
Microsoft "leaked" Steam integration for the Xbox PC app via the above graphic last week, before pulling it away after outlets began to ask about that tiny little button that says "Steam" on the filter list.
Indeed, the Xbox Game Bar for PC already can see your Steam games installed on your system, but it's not exactly the "best" experience for launching games from a controller on PC, I would say. Microsoft is clearly working to solve some of these issues, however, to give users more choice over which storefronts they use, without compromising too heavily on the polish and delivery of the overall system.
As for the "why" Microsoft is doing this, I'll save that for another article, but lots of Xbox fans have been wondering whether or not this would solve the content gap problem. With games like Forza, Indiana Jones, and most likely Halo heading to PlayStation, the chances of games like God of War and Helldivers 2 ever hitting Xbox remain remote at best. With the gen 10 Xbox consoles, in theory, you could run those PlayStation games on your "Xbox" via Steam instead, potentially offering a fix for the gap.
What remains contentious is whether or not PlayStation might attempt to block its games from appearing on Xbox hardware.
It would be an unprecedented move, and not something Steam has ever had to really deal with. A per-OEM content hardware restriction creates a very large can of worms. It could lead to OEMs buying up exclusive rights to PC games for their systems, at least in theory. It would lead to a weird universe of new DRM features that would probably cause more harm than benefits. And much like Denuvo and the like, it's unclear how realistically enforceable something like that would even be.
Sony doesn't block its games from running on Microsoft Surface laptops, and that's essentially what the next Xbox is going to be in essence. It would be a spectacularly petty move, and one that personally, I do not foresee Sony pursuing. However, I know from conversations with people familiar with Microsoft's plans that it is at the least a remote possibility the firm has been seriously considering.
NVIDIA GeForce Now has players log into their Steam account on a remote PC, but you cannot access your full Steam account, even if those remote PCs are entirely capable of giving you full-fat access to your content. The rights holders forced NVIDIA GeForce Now to restrict what games are accessible on its remote PCs on a per-title basis. It's not entirely the same scenario, but it is an example of license holders dictating how their games are accessed via Steam.
It's like I said, there's no precedent for this that I could find, but there's also no precedent for what Microsoft is doing with the next Xbox. A Windows-capable, living room-friendly subsidized, affordable gaming PC with an Xbox controller-first shell could be the most compelling video game "console" in years. So far, only Valve's Steam Deck hooked up to a TV via a Steam Deck dock offers something truly comparable, albeit with performance drawbacks.
Xbox could achieve something truly special, if indeed these rumored plans go ahead. And while I think it's very unlikely, it's not impossible to think that there may see some unexpected shenanigans from license holders and platforms when it all comes to pass.
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