Spencer: There's No Mandate For Studios to Release on XB1&PC; UWP Games Not Limited To Windows Store

Phil Spencer was a office of yesterday's Microsoft Build keynote. We reported on the highlights earlier today, such as the upcoming UWP VSYNC set up and the fact that overlay and mods volition be allowed eventually.

However, Spencer also talked to the press in a Q&A later and expanded on some of the hottest topics. For case, while it was reiterated that after Forza half-dozen Apex all games in the racing franchise will be released on both Windows x and Xbox 1, the Head of Xbox Sectionalisation confirmed that there is no bodily mandate for internal studios to release on both Windows 10 PC and Xbox Ane.

Our intent is for when the genres and creative makes sense in both spaces that we'll put our games in both spaces.

I don't want to get in some kind of bogus mandate, because then I remember we end upwards with 'Frankengames', games that actually weren't meant for a sure platform. And because some adjust said, 'Hey, everything's gotta run on both platforms', you end up with something people don't want.
You should expect information technology when franchises expect like they belong on both platforms, just I wouldn't go and so far equally to say information technology's a mandate for the studios because information technology'due south not.

It might not be a mandate, but most titles published by Microsoft Game Studios can certainly fit both platforms well, so it's reasonable to expect the current tendency to continue with just a few exceptions to the rule.

Spencer then confirmed that support for keyboard & mouse volition eventually exist available on Xbox I every bit previously announced. At the same time, he doesn't want to force users who are accustomed to either keyboard & mouse or controller to play against another command method.

Furthermore, addressing Tim Sweeney'south concerns regarding Microsoft'due south purported plan of locking downwardly the Windows ecosystem, he explained that UWP applications don't accept to be sold through Microsoft's Shop (which will be unified shortly).

Yous have to submit to our store if you're going to sell through our store, but you don't have to sell through our store. What Tim wanted us to say is 'We're not locking down the app framework to lock downward people's ability to distribute games and applications on the platform'. That's right, that's non what we're doing.

Finally, he addressed in the elephant in the room: Halo 5 Guardians. According to Spencer, the game was conceived for console (Xbox One) and he doesn't want to look back. Rather, if they're going to bring Halo (in its FPS incarnation - Halo Wars two has already been announced for Windows x) to PC, it will exist because they have planned for a release on both platforms from the beginning.