Microsoft wants to bring Steam to the new Windows 11 app store
During yesterday’s Windows 11 event, Microsoft talked up “democracy” and “sovereignty” for creators, emphasizing its intent to allow anyone and everyone to curate app stores on Windows, starting with Amazon’s own Android app store.
The possibilities therein are obvious. Microsoft noted that it wants other Android app stores to come to Windows 11 too, which could mean the Galaxy Store from Samsung could eventually make its way across, as well as Google Play itself. If app developers use third-party monetization systems on Windows 11’s app store, they get to keep an unprecedented 100% of the revenue, which is a direct shot to the likes of Apple and others.
In a new interview with The Verge’s Tom Warren, Microsoft CPO Panos Panay elaborated further that this includes curated storefronts on PC too, including Steam.
“Windows already in many ways hosts those stores, and if we can host it through the Microsoft Store then of course. For sure, it means as others want to come to the Store, they’re very welcome. As a matter of fact, encouraged, and that’s kind of why we’re building out some of these policies.”
Steam is the defacto store of choice for PC gaming right now, owing to its mature content offering, superior content delivery mechanism, and long and trusted history with the industry. Steam has also been a major driver of independent game development, bringing vast innovation to a space that was previously quite controlled and insular. Microsoft and others have emulated some of Steam’s more open policies towards game development over the years, but it could be argued that Microsoft has begun going a bit further.
Regardless, Microsoft’s messaging for Windows 11 is all about openness, and making it a platform for others to build their businsesses on top of. Microsoft’s store policies will put pressure on competing platforms like Apple and Google Play to adopt a more friendly revenue sharing model potentially. Whether developers actually bite remains to be seen, of course. The Windows 10 app store is notorious for its low-quality offering as of writing. But all of that, hopefully, could be about to change.
Related: Windows 11 gaming announcements detailed
Fret not, you can sideload Android APKs directly onto Windows 11
Windows 11 brings a significant new feature: the ability to run Android apps directly within the OS. While users can get Android apps through the Amazon store, it has now been confirmed that, yes, you can also just sideload your favorite Android APK too 🙌
TPM, Windows 11, and what it means for getting that upgrade this fall
Windows 11 doesn’t have too many strict hardware requirements to run well, but Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet on security. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is required, and what that means is causing a lot of confusion for some users. Here is what we know so far.