The Epic fight with Microsoft’s Windows Store has geared up

Is Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform initiative as reviled by PC gamers as Games for Windows Live used to be? If Epic Games’ co-founder Tim Sweeney has his way, UWP will find its way into the same dustbin of gaming into which GFWL eventually rested. Sweeney, in a blistering editorial published by The Guardian, went into detail on his objections to the program and explained why he believes it’s bad for gaming as a whole. According to the veteran developer, Micosoft’s “aggressive” UWP policies prevent competition, infringe on rights, and is a move “against the entire PC industry.” By limiting access to features in UWP to software sold in the Windows Store, Sweeney accuses Microsoft of taking steps to monopolize app distribution and commerce.

In my view, if Microsoft does not commit to opening PC UWP up in the manner described here, then PC UWP can, should, must and will, die as a result of industry backlash. Gamers, developers, publishers simply cannot trust the PC UWP “platform” so long as Microsoft gives evasive, ambiguous and sneaky answers to questions about UWP’s future, as if it’s a PR issue. This isn’t a PR issue, it’s an existential issue for Microsoft, a first-class determinant of Microsoft’s future role in the world.

Saying that he hoped he would never be compelled to write the article, Tim Sweeney, admitted that Microsoft’s Phil Spencer had listened to Epic’s concerns, but went ahead with the UWP program. Sweeney called on Microsoft to change UWP to be a more open platform.

The editorial from Tim Sweeney comes just after Microsoft launched Gears of War: Ultimate Edition exclusively in the Windows Store for Windows 10 on March 1st. (Microsoft purchased the Gears of War franchise outright from Epic in 2014.) While it might be coincidence that the Windows 10 version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is beset by a myriad of technical issues, it certainly must have stung Sweeney to see his old game treated so poorly.

Gamers should recall that Valve boss Gabe Newell warned that Microsoft’s early iteration of the Windows Store in Windows 8 was a “catastrophe” for PC gaming. Newell said the creation of the SteamOS was due in part as a response to what he saw as the coming threat from Microsoft’s attempts to lock down PC gaming.