"We currently only support Steam and EGS stores for PC": A major upcoming sequel ditches Xbox PC and Xbox Play Anywhere - is this an emerging trend?

Key Points:

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 will not launch on Xbox PC or support Xbox Play Anywhere, marking a step back from the original game's cross-play and cross-buy features on the platform, as confirmed by Daybreak Game Company.
• Microsoft's Xbox PC store struggles with low organic adoption from both players and developers, leading to reliance on Xbox Game Pass deals to attract titles, which may undermine the store's growth as a traditional PC gaming platform.
• Xbox's new CEO, Asha Sharma, acknowledges the Xbox PC ecosystem's shortcomings and is implementing improvements, including hiring platform discovery and search experts and bringing in engineering talent from GitHub to enhance developer support.
• Despite advantages like a higher revenue share for developers and pre-installation on Windows 11, Xbox PC store faces challenges such as missing classic PC titles, delayed game search visibility, and user frustration with the storefront experience.
• The Xbox PC store's future hinges on overcoming a chicken-and-egg problem where gamers await more games before engaging, and developers hesitate to join without a strong user base, with Microsoft actively working to address these issues amid broader industry shifts.