Those save files are encrypted to help prevent gamers from copying them and easily getting worthless achievements, so you can’t copy them to a new computer as easily. GFWL is famous for corrupting save files. It was annoying, and it still is annoying today if you play any games that contain GFWL. But the annoying interface is the least of many people’s concerns. Worse yet, Games for Windows LIVE didn’t work that well. Games for Windows LIVE Never Really Improves as Microsoft Neglects It Try to play a GFWL-enabled game in another country and it won’t work. In 2008, Microsoft realized it wasn’t getting anywhere with this strategy and gave up on the subscription fees, making online multiplayer free for everyone in GFWL games.Īs it was tied to Xbox LIVE, GFWL games only fully work in the 42 countries where Xbox LIVE is available. But many PC gamers weren’t Xbox gamers, and this meant GFWL games has a subscription fee for the same multiplayer features other PC games offered for free. Luckily, if you were already an Xbox user, you already had Gold–paying for either GFWL Gold or Xbox LIVE Gold got you both. A gold account was required for playing GFWL-enabled games online, just like Xbox LIVE Gold is required for playing Xbox games online. You could pay to upgrade to a Gold account, which cost $50 a year. Games for Windows LIVE was tied to Xbox LIVE. Tray and Play never actually appeared in any games, and became vaporware. This would allow you to insert a game on a disc into your PC and immediately start playing while it installs in the background, like you could on a console. Microsoft also announced that a “ Tray and Play” feature would be part of GFWL before its release. Even Microsoft’s own Halo 2, which GFWL practically launched with, didn’t support cross-platform play. Universe at War: Earth Assault and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition supported cross-platform multiplayer around that time, but developers–even Microsoft’s own developers–avoided using it again. However, cross-platform play was left by the wayside. This was one of Microsoft’s big promised features a decade ago, just as cross-platform gameplay between Windows 10 and Xbox One is today. Shadowrun featured cross-platform gameplay between Windows Vista and Xbox 360 players. Microsoft wanted to encourage gamers to upgrade to Vista, just as Quantum Break and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition are designed to encourage upgrades to Windows 10 today. Both games only officially supported Windows Vista, but were later cracked to work on Windows XP–they didn’t actually need the latest version of Windows. Games for Windows LIVE debuted with Windows Vista. The first game to use Microsoft’s GFWL service was Shadowrun in 2007, followed by Halo 2 two days later. RELATED: Why You Shouldn't Buy Rise of the Tomb Raider (and Other PC Games) from the Windows Store The Beginning: Bringing Xbox LIVE to Windows, Including the Subscription Fee

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