Xbox’s new cross-device play history made one anecdotal fact impossible to ignore: in 2025, independent studios are not just competing with AAA publishers — for many players they’re eclipsing them in creativity, polish, and sheer hours played.
Background
What changed: Xbox’s cross-device play...
Microsoft has quietly expanded the Xbox PC App on Windows into a true game‑management hub: an Aggregated Gaming Library that discovers and surfaces installed titles from multiple third‑party storefronts (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Battle.net and more) alongside Xbox and Game Pass entries...
Microsoft has quietly reworked the Xbox app on Windows 11 into a genuine one‑stop hub for PC gaming, and the implications reach well beyond a refreshed launcher: the app now aggregates installed titles from multiple storefronts, lets you launch non‑Microsoft games without opening third‑party...
achievements
age gating
aggregated gaming library
aggregated library
ai assistant
anti cheat
anti-cheat
arm prism
battery life
battle.net
beta rollout
cloud continuity
cloud gaming
cloud play
competitive play
controller first
controller friendly
controller ux
crossdeviceplaycross-deviceplaycross-device sync
cross-store
cross-store gaming
cross-store launcher
drm
drm and anti-cheat
epic games
epic games store
galaxy book ultra
game bar
game pass
game performance
gaming copilot
gaming ux
gog
gog galaxy
handheld gaming
in-game overlay
insider program
insiders
launcher fragmentation
launcher handoffs
launcher orchestration
metadata gaps
microsoft store
mini mode
mobile app
multi storefronts
multi-store
multi-store gaming
multi-store launchers
my apps
my library
on-screen analysis
one-stop launcher
pc gaming
pc gaming hub
performance
performance impact
personalization
play history
privacy
privacy controls
privacy settings
privacy telemetry
region rollout
regional rollout
resume and jump
rog xbox ally
samsung
screenshot analysis
screenshots
second screen
steam
ubisoft connect
voice mode
windows 11
windows 11 gaming
windows game bar
windows gaming
xbox
xbox insider
xbox pc app
