Alright, so I’m gonna try something a bit different here—kind of like that time I tried salsa on my cereal. Weird combo, but here goes:
So, Microsoft… yeah, they’re still on this quest to get Xbox gaming all nestled comfortably on your PC, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. And now, Xbox Insiders get to poke around with this new store system thingy on the Windows 11 PC Gaming Preview.
In this blog post I stumbled upon (while pretending to work, let’s be honest), Microsoft was all, “Hey, Insiders! You get this updated Xbox PC app for Windows 11 this week.” Cool, right? It’s supposed to mash together top PC storefronts from other game companies. But they sorta stopped short of saying who’s on the guest list. Typical.
Now here’s me being all cynical, thinking “Uh, where’s Steam in this picture?” Maybe I’m overthinking it. Or not. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Oh, oh! You might dig this part: you can see it all without spending a dime. Just hop onto your gaming PC, do the Xbox Insider thing on Windows 11, and boom! You’re part of the PC Gaming Preview.
Microsoft’s playing nice, promising your Xbox PC app will just start picking up games you’ve already got from other stores, throwing them into the library like it’s cleaning house. Right now, they’re flashing Battle.net like it’s the only dance partner, but they swear up and down there’s more to come.
Check out the Xbox Ally, too—cute little bugger that’s ready to soak up all this feature goodness right when it hits the stage. I saw this picture of it, and wow, the tech world’s a slippery slope into gadget love, right? Can’t even help myself.
Oh, and if this store mash-up isn’t your thing, just flick it off in the settings. No biggie.
But, if you let it do its thing, your game library’s suddenly gonna be packed with games from those other stores. And they’ll all just cozy up in your recent plays list like old pals—though, to be real, if you have to jump through the launcher hoops anyway, meh. But hey, guess it’s handy if you like wrangling games with a controller. Perfect for when Xbox Ally drops later this year—man, time flies.
So yeah, Microsoft’s going all out beefing up Xbox on PC. Tossing resources left and right. The Xbox Ally’s got this aggregation thing coming, plus some snazzy Windows features to make running the OS with a controller feel less like you’re juggling. Will it all be ready in time for Christmas? Who knows. I’ll just be here, watching it unfold with popcorn. Or salsa cereal. Whatever.
