Xbox to integrate Steam according to industry insider

Truthfully, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Steam imbibed into the Microsoft ecosystem. Given the former’s ridiculous financial muscle, decades of industry experience, and clear inclination to create a massive buffet of games available to ‘play anywhere,’ merging with Steam feels like a necessary step to achieve that goal – especially if Microsoft’s Windows PC gaming ambitions have any chance of genuinely standing up in the market.

There’s a tonne of buzz around the subject this week, with people speculating on everything from whether both entities will have cross-library syncing, to the potential of cross-platform multiplayer becoming a thing.

Some have expressed concern on Reddit that Microsoft fully leaning into a platform-agnostic future may put off third-party developers from the Xbox Store, but it could be argued that Steam would more than make up for any shortfall of games should that occur.

It would also signify a continuation of the industry shift away from console exclusive titles. Microsoft has been more liberal than ever with offering first-party titles to Sony, including Forza Horizon 5, Halo, and Gears of War, seemingly intent on building bridges in the name of collaboration and expansion.

Microsoft isn’t keen on giving up on hardware entirely, but the iterations of Xbox we’re to see in the future will most likely act as hubs for the many services and publishers it aims keep on hoovering up. The actual product will be a deviation from what players are used to, that’s for sure.

We don’t normally give leaks or industry rumblings much credit without verification, but Microsoft is hardly being cryptic about its ambitions in this case. The traditional battle for console superiority is looking very much like a one-horse race.