Rumours
have
been
circulating
for
some
time
now
that
Microsoft
is
playing
around
with
the
next-gen
Xbox
being
more
akin
to
a
living
room
PC.

A
few
days
ago
we
got
word
of
that
plan
being
furthered
as
Microsoft
was
apparently
testing
integrating
Steam
into
the
Xbox
ecosystem.
Now,
a
reliable
source
is
backing
up
those
claims.

Jez
Corden
of
Windows
Central
is
a
reasonably
reliable
purveyor
of
insider
news,
and
according
to
his
latest
report
Microsoft
is
indeed
in
talks
with
Valve
about
the
Steam
store,
and
perhaps
Epic
as
well.

“For
my
part,
I
can
say
that
Xbox
has
been
in
talks
with
PC
storefront
owners,
including
Steam’s
Valve,
about
what
exactly
that
might
look
like,”

said
Jez.

However,
he
is
doubtful
of
the
claims
that
it
has
moved
passed
the
talking
phase
and
is
being
actively
tested:
“There
have
been
other
rumors
that
full
integration
is
even
in
testing,
although
I’d
take
that
with
a
pinch
of
salt
for
now.”

Also
relevant
is
a
comment
Jez
made
a
few
months
back
when
more
reports
of
an
Xbox-PC
hybrid
were
flying
around.
On
discussing
the
topic
of
PlayStation
blocking
their
Steam
releases
on
Xbox,

Jez
had
this
to
say:
“i
know
for
a
fact
PlayStation
can
do
this
if
they
feel
inclined,
so
keep
expectations
in
check
is
my
only
message.”

This
is,
of
course,
addressing
the
idea
that
if
Steam
was
somehow
available
on
an
Xbox
console,
people
would
be
able
to
play
the
likes
of
God
of
War:
Ragnarock
or
Helldivers
2
on
an
Xbox.

Other
people,
including
Tom
Warren
of
The
Verge,
disagreed
with
Jez’s
assumption,
though.

“I’m
super
curious
how
Sony
can
force
Valve
to
block
Steam
games
on
particular
Windows
hardware,”

said
Tom
Warren,
replying
to
Jez’s
tweet
at
the
time.
“I’ve
never
heard
about
a
policy
or
instance
of
publishers
being
able
to
do
this
with
Steam”

Of
course,
it
goes
without
saying
that
all
of
these
claims
are
potentially
wrong,
untrue,
not
accurate
or
a
million
other
things.
With
that
said,
there’s
enough
reporting
going
on
to
strongly
suggest
that
the
idea
of
Steam
on
Xbox
or
somehow
being
integrated
into
the
Microsoft
Store
is
real
and
being
discussed,
regardless
of
whether
it
ever
comes
to
fruition.

We
also
have
the
upcoming
Xbox
handheld
devices
to
consider,
too.
One
is
a
planned
partnership
with
ROG,
while
the
other,
which
is
coming
years
down
the
line,
is
a
true
portable
Xbox
handheld
machine
developed
inhouse.