Microsoft wants gamers to purchase once, across all Windows 10 devices

Microsoft may have finally found a way to throw a serious monkey wrench into its competitors’ gears, namely Nintendo and Sony, by offering something they never could: cross-platform game purchases.

Starting with the release of the upcoming game Quantum Break, by Remedy, Microsoft is offering a pre-order deal that will grant gamers the right to a digital copy of the game, free of charge, to play on their Windows 10 PCs, by April 5th, upon Quantum Break’s official launch. If that weren’t good enough, Microsoft is also sweetening the deal, by offering Remedy’s previous blockbusters “Alan Wake”, and “Alan Wake’s American Nightmare”, free of charge.

Since its inception, Windows 10 has been moving towards a unified platform for users to play, collaborate and communicate, using Windows 10 One Core, which Microsoft aims to develop in such way as to allow gamers to purchase one game, and compete with each other on their Windows 10 laptops and desktops, Xbox One consoles, Windows 10 mobile tablets and smartphones, as well as Microsoft HoloLens.

While we may still be a long way ahead from this scenario, proprietary gaming consoles seem increasingly unsustainable, forcing gamers who play on multiple devices to purchase one game for each one of their consoles, PCs, Macs, and so forth.

While there is not much Microsoft can do about gamers on Apple Macs, the software giant is already doing plenty to attract customers who might be willing to let go of their Playstation, and Nintendo consoles, by allowing gamers to purchase their favorite titles once, within a network that has access to all devices. This strategy will likely lead to bigger profits for both Microsoft, and game developers, benefiting from an increasingly motivated customer base.

It’s worth noting that this business model is not new, as retail of movies on DVD and Blu Ray has often used incentives such as offering digital copies, using services such as Vudu, Sony Digital and Ultraviolet, where consumers would use special redeemable codes included in the retail packaging of a movie purchased in store, to have it instantly available on their favorite streaming app. What sets apart the games from movies, is that the market of DVD and BlueRay movies is a lot more fragmented, and it’s hard to focus on just one platform. On the other hand, games purchased on Xbox One will be accessible on any Windows 10 device signed in with a Microsoft account, may that be an Xbox One console, a Windows 10 gaming laptop/desktop, or a Surface Pro tablet.