third-party stores

Microsoft’s next living‑room gamble has moved from rumor to a credible engineering plan: the company is preparing a hybrid, Windows‑rooted console that boots into a familiar, TV‑first Xbox shell by default while making the full Windows 11 runtime — and with it, third‑party PC storefronts —...

Microsoft’s latest Xbox app update for Windows 11 and handhelds finally stitches scattered PC game libraries into a single, controller‑friendly hub that promises smoother launches, cross‑device continuity, and a new “My apps” launcher — but it also raises important questions about DRM handoffs...

Microsoft’s app-store experiment started with a clear promise — a single, safe place to find and automatically update Windows software — but for more than a decade the reality was a sequence of missteps, confusing platform shifts, and fragmented developer incentives that left most PC users...

Microsoft’s Xbox app on Windows 11 has quietly evolved from a Game Pass storefront into a genuine, controller-friendly gaming hub capable of listing and launching installed titles from Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net and more — and the company is now rolling key pieces of that work out to wider...

Microsoft’s short, step-by-step support page for Microsoft Edge lays out the basics for adding, disabling, and removing extensions — but the topic matters far beyond a few clicks. Extensions shape privacy, performance, and security for millions of Windows users, and managing them properly is now...

Microsoft has begun testing a new “My apps” tab inside the Xbox app for Windows 11 that lets Xbox Insiders install, launch and — in some cases — download third‑party apps and rival storefronts from a single, controller‑friendly launcher designed especially for handheld Windows gaming devices...

Microsoft’s Xbox app on Windows 11 has quietly started to act less like a storefront front end and more like a full-fledged PC gaming hub, now testing a “My apps” tab that will surface, download, and launch third‑party apps and rival storefronts from within the Xbox UI itself. Background The...

Microsoft has begun testing a new “My apps” tab inside the Xbox PC app for Windows 11 that lets players locate, download, and launch third‑party applications — from browsers and gaming utilities to rival storefronts — without leaving the Xbox experience, a move aimed squarely at improving...

Xbox’s PC app is getting a major usability push for PC and handheld gamers with a new “My Apps” hub that collects browsers, utilities, and rival storefronts in a single launcher inside the Xbox PC app — a move designed to make the Xbox app the central home for everything you play on Windows. The...

Microsoft's steady expansion of the Xbox gaming ecosystem on PC has taken a bold new turn, as the company begins testing an aggregated gaming store system within the Xbox PC app. This change, now available to Xbox Insiders participating in the Windows 11 PC Gaming Preview, signals what could be...

Microsoft's strategic maneuvers in the gaming industry have consistently aimed at bridging the gap between console and PC gaming. Recent developments suggest that the tech giant is intensifying efforts to establish a more unified gaming ecosystem, potentially introducing a new digital storefront...

With the next generation of Xbox hardware on the horizon and rumors swirling about major design changes, Microsoft’s approach to the gaming ecosystem is poised for a radical transformation. What began as speculation is quickly coalescing into a vision: the successor to the Xbox Series X will not...

In June, we introduced the new Microsoft Store on Windows, redesigned from the ground up to meet the needs of customers across a variety of app experiences. We also opened up the Microsoft Store on Windows to developers using different types of frameworks, packaging technologies, and commerce...