Xbox is moving away almost entirely from first-party exclusives, as flagships like Halo and Gears of War are being made available on PlayStation and Steam, with Fable soon to follow. But what about Microsoft’s older titles?
According to Windows Central editor Jez Corden, “some heavy-hitting Xbox first-party experiences, presently not on Steam, will show up there in the coming months.”
Corden didn’t divulge what those heavy-hitting “experiences” might be, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d expect games that are already playable on PC, but not Steam, rather than new ports a la Halo 5 and Fable 2.
For a rough idea of what we could expect, here are some of the titles that still aren’t available on Valve’s storefront:
- Fable 3
- Minecraft
- Prey (2006)
- Wolfenstein (2009)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
- Diablo 1-3
- World of Warcraft
- Starcraft 1-2
- Warcraft 1-3
- Crackdown 3
- Gears 4
- Halo Wars 2
Some of these, such as Wolfenstein (2009) and Prey (2006), were originally available on Steam before being delisted, while others, like Crackdown 3 and Minecraft, have never been available on the platform. It’s easy money sitting on the table for Microsoft, though titles like Fable 3 would need untangling from the now-defunct Games for Windows Live to work on modern systems.
Is Xbox Game Pass Finally Coming To Steam?
Some are convinced that Corden is actually teasing Game Pass finally coming to Steam, as he didn’t describe these heavy-hitters as ‘games’ per se, but “experiences”.
It’s something players have spent years clamoring for, especially with the advent of the Steam Deck, and Gabe Newell even said way back in 2022 that Valve is “more than happy” to work with Microsoft on integrating the subscription into its storefront.
It wouldn’t be the first service of its kind on the platform, either, as EA Play is presently available, though it’s possible we would see a slimmed-down version that only includes first-party Xbox games, rather than the extensive library it otherwise offers.
At any rate, we should find out soon enough, as Corden teased that all of this would begin to unfold in the “coming months”.
Microsoft is currently a BDS target, meaning there are many who are boycotting all Xbox products — including Xbox-published games — until it is removed from the list.
- Brand
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Valve
- Original Release Date
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September 12, 2003
- Original MSRP (USD)
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N/A
- Weight
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N/A
