Xbox’s New Strategy: Integrating Steam for Better Gaming?

Xbox’s
strategy
is
evolving
rapidly
these
days,
shifting
to
becoming
the
biggest
publisher
of
games
across
all
platforms,
and
now
reports
are
suggesting
that
they
are
looking
into
integrating
Steam
into
their
plans.

This
slice
of
information
comes
from
eXtas1s,
a
Spanish
insider
who
frequently
knows
about
all
things
Game
Pass.
Outside
of
Game
Pass
specifically,
his
track-record
is
a
little
spottier,
so
take
all
of
this
with
a
grain
of
salt.
Or
a
spoonful.
Perhaps
a
shovel
might
be
the
best
option,
actually.

Speaking
on
his
Youtube
channel,
eXtas1s
claims
that
Microsoft
is
internally
testing
adding
Steam
to
the
Windows
store,
with
the
future
goal
being
to
somehow
integrate
it
with
next-generation
Xbox
as
well.

Note:
the
quotes
here
were
translated
from
Spanish
to
English
by
taking
the
Youtube
transcription
and
running
it
through
chatgpt,
which
also
attempted
to
turn
it
into
more
natural
English
rather
than
just
a
direct
translation.
As
always,
mistakes
may
have
been
made.

“Microsoft
has
officially
added
the

Steam
application
to
its

device
support
software,
under
the
name

“Steam
Developer
Beta”.
It’s
currently
only
available
to
certain
employees
and
collaborators,
but
the
implication
is
huge,”
said
eXtas1s.
“This
reflects
Microsoft’s
intention
to
foster

coexistence
and
cooperation
between
the
Xbox
ecosystem
and
the
massive
PC
platform
that
is

Steam.”

He
continues
by
explaining
that
the
next
Xbox
is
going
to
be
more
like
a
PC.

“Naturally,
that
means
you’ll
need
Steam
integration,
and
this
will
come
via
the

Microsoft
Store
—
so
when
you
boot
up
your
next-gen
Xbox,
you’ll
have
access
to
Steam
without
any
complex
setup.
That’s
a
key
step
toward
making
both
the
next
Xbox
and

handheld
PC
gaming
more
attractive
and
seamless.”

But
it
doesn’t
end
there
because
eXtas1s
also
claims
that
Epic
might
be
involved
in
this
experiment.

“…this
is
a
clear
strategic
move
from
Microsoft.
It
supports
their
ongoing
vision
to
create

interoperability
between
Xbox
and
other
platforms
like

Steam,
and
even

Epic
Games
Store,
which
is
also
reportedly
part
of
this
integration.”

There’s
a
lot
of
room
for
interpretation
here.
It
could
purely
be
a
PC
thing,
or
it
could
come
to
Xbox
as
well
like
eXtas1s
is
claiming.
Honestly,
I’m
not
sure
how
tempting
this
would
be
for
Microsoft,
though.
Imagine,
for
a
moment,
that
Microsoft
does
integrate
Steam
with
the
next
Xbox:
Valve
would
get
their
standard
30%
cut
for
every
sale
made
via
Steam
on
the
Xbox.
Presumably
in
this
scenario
Microsoft’s
idea
is
that
they
would
boost
total
sales
enough
to
make
it
worthwhile.