Microsoft has denied rumours that it will shutdown GFWL. It’s an odd statement to release now, as many of its own games and studios are moving to Steamworks.
We reported earlier that Microsoft is bringing back Rise of Nations: Extended Edition, but to Steamworks and not GFWL. Twisted Pixel has now revealed they are transitioning GFWL users to Steamworks, with achievement and cloud saving to boot. The save transfer process should be seamless, based on their announcement.
Now, here’s Microsoft’s statement regarding Games For Windows Live:
We are continuing to support the Games for Windows Live service. As previously announced, as part of the retirement of Microsoft Points the Xbox.com PC marketplace was closed. Although customers are unable to purchase new games from the marketplace or receive title updates, they can continue to enjoy previously purchased content by downloading them through the Games for Windows Live client as usual. We remain committed to investing in PC gaming in the years ahead, and look forward to sharing more in the future.
We can understand keeping GFWL open to support dedicated customers, and even moving games to Steamworks for the business. However, given the lack of more explanation in E3, or since that event, it’s hard to gauge Microsoft’s plans for PC gaming. Microsoft really needs to bring more clarity on this, esp. with Steam Machines already on the horizon.
