Reception
Games developed for UWP are subject to technical restrictions, including incompatibility with multi-video card setups, difficulties modding the game, overlays for gameplay-oriented chat clients, or key binding managers.[21] UWP will only support DirectX 11.1 or later, so games built on older DirectX versions will not work.[22] During Build 2016, Microsoft Xbox division head Phil Spencer announced that the company was attempting to address issues which would improve the viability of UWP for PC games, stating that Microsoft was "committed to ensuring we meet or exceed the performance expectations of full-screen games as well as the additional features including support for overlays, modding, and more." Support for AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync technologies, and disabling V-sync, was later added to UWP.[23][24]
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney criticized UWP for being a walled garden, since by default UWP software may only be published and installed via Windows Store, requiring changes in system settings to enable the installation of external software (similarly to Android). Additionally, certain operating system features are exclusive to UWP and cannot be used in non-UWP software such as most video games. Sweeney characterized these moves as "the most aggressive move Microsoft has ever made" in attempting to transform PCs into a closed platform, and felt that these moves were meant to put third-party games storefronts such as Steam at a disadvantage as Microsoft is "curtailing users' freedom to install full-featured PC software and subverting the rights of developers and publishers to maintain a direct relationship with their customers". As such, Sweeney argued that end-users should be able to download UWP software and install it in the same manner as non-UWP software.[25]
Windows VP Kevin Gallo addressed Sweeney's concerns, stating that "in the Windows 10 November Update, we enabled people to easily side-load apps by default, with no UX required. We want to make Windows the best development platform regardless of technologies used, and offer tools to help developers with existing code bases of HTML/JavaScript, .NET and Win32, C++ and Objective-C bring their code to Windows, and integrate UWP capabilities. With Xamarin, UWP developers can not only reach all Windows 10 devices, but they can now use a large percentage of their C# code to deliver a fully native mobile app experiences for iOS and Android."[26]
In a live interview with Giant Bomb during its E3 2016 coverage, Spencer defended the mixed reception of its UWP-exclusive releases, stating that "they all haven't gone swimmingly. Some of them have gone well", and that "there's still definitely concern that UWP and our store are somehow linked in a way that is nefarious. It's not." He also discussed Microsoft's relationships with third-party developers and distributors such as Steam, considering the service to be "a critical part of gaming's success on Windows" and stating that Microsoft planned to continue releasing games through the platform as well as its own, but that "There's going to be areas where we cooperate and there's going to be areas where we compete. The end result is better for gamers." Spencer also stated that he was a friend of Sweeney and had been in frequent contact with him.[27][28]
On May 30, 2019, Microsoft announced that it would support distribution of Win32 games on Microsoft Store; Spencer (who had since been promoted to head of all games operations at Microsoft, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella) explained that developers preferred the architecture, and that it "allow[s] for the customization and control [developers and players] come to expect from the open Windows gaming ecosystem." It was also announced that future Xbox Game Studios releases on Windows would be made available on third-party storefronts such as Steam, rather than be exclusive to Microsoft Store.[29][30]
