The director for one of 2025's best games was a Windows Phone fan, says Microsoft was "shocked" that he was voluntarily using it — I experienced similar

We're a bit guilty of Windows Phone lamentations here at Windows Central from time to time (all the time, if you're me or Zac Bowden), but we're not alone. There are dozens of us! Also including the game director of one of this year's best Xbox and PC games thus far.

Kingdom Come Deliverance II is a detailed and historically faithful RPG set in medieval Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor state of modern Czechia. A brutal and mature tale of revenge, Kingdom Come Deliverance II has already set a high bar for 2025 game releases, winning near-universal praise from reviewers, including our own review. It was to be expected from Warhorse Studios, given how good the original game is too. What was less expected, is that game director Daniel Vávra counts himself among the Windows Phone faithful.

Speaking on X, Vávra recounted how he thought using a Windows Phone might have won him some kudos during a visit to Microsoft HQ back in the day, however, the staff there were reportedly "shocked" that he was "voluntarily" using it. I have personally visited Microsoft HQ myself in Redmond a few times over the years, and I have to say, my experience were quite similar to Daniel's here.

I felt compelled to write this up, because when I've visited Microsoft HQ for game previews in the early days of my career, I had some similar experiences (also excuses to write about Windows Phone in 2025 are pretty limited...)

I'd be there, rocking my Surface Book, my massive and shiny Lumia 950 XL, only to discover a sea of iPhones and occasional well-intended jibes for "suffering" through Windows 10 Mobile. It was those experiences that crystallized the fact that Windows Phone was probably not long for this world, if even the company that created it wasn't particularly excited about using it.

Of course, there were many over there who were excited about it, and worked incredibly hard to make something of it. Hindsight is always 20/20 with regard to these things, and finding success in a competitive hardware marketplace is monstrously hard, as even Xbox itself is currently discovering. Yet still, with Microsoft trying to promote its own AI tools like Copilot, and not having its own mobile phone endpoint to control, perhaps it was a bit short-sighted of them to have killed it off without a bigger fight. CEO Satya Nadella himself recently expressed regret for giving up on Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile.

With Xbox's huge mobile content glut, cloud gaming, Copilot AI, the rise of progressive web apps, and beyond, I still think Windows Phone could have a chance in 2025. I can hear you rolling your eyes through the screen, but hear me out! What if Windows 11 Mobile could become some kind of "niche" productivity-oriented AI-first phone OS whose unique selling point is simplicity over endless mindless distractions seen on iOS and Android?! I'd buy it. Although, I would very much like Live Tiles back if they were to go down that route. Alas, I am dreaming. I said stop eye-rolling. Yes, you, Tom Warren.

Apologies to Daniel Vávra, but when I see opportunities to write about Windows Phone in 2025, I take it ...😭 For everyone else, go play Kingdom Come Deliverance II right now.