Live Anywhere
Encyclopedia
Games for Windows – Live (trademarked as Games for Windows – LIVE) is an online gaming service for Games for Windows
-branded PC
titles. It enables Windows
PCs to connect to the Live
service, which will eventually include other devices including Windows Mobile
and Zune
. Users, each with a unique Gamertag, the Microsoft username service for gaming that began with the Xbox Live
, are able to play online, keep track of their friends' status, send and receive messages, gain and keep track of Achievements and associated Gamerscore, voice chat across platforms, and much more. Some games allow for cross-platform play, such as Shadowrun
, putting Windows players against Xbox 360
players.
The service is open to 3rd-party developers, but they must be able to meet certain Technical Certification Requirements (TCRs), which include (but are not limited to): game ratings, total number of Gamerscore points, content, game profiles, and Live connectivity. Games for Windows – Live games must also meet standard Games for Windows (games that do not have Live support) TCRs. The same developer support infrastructure is available as with the Xbox 360
. Assistance to developers is provided through the Microsoft XNA
Developer Connection.
, which launched simultaneously on Windows Vista
and Xbox 360
on May 29, 2007, and was also the first LIVE title to offer cross-platform play between Windows Vista
and Xbox 360
on the Live service.
Another game that was released is Halo 2
for Windows Vista, which was launched to the public on May 31, 2007. The game supports all the standard Live features (such as achievements, voice chat, messages, etc.), but does not offer cross-platform play with Xbox 360 players.
Sega
, Eidos
, and THQ
have signed on to include Games for Windows – Live in their upcoming games. Epic Games
also included this service in their game engine
Unreal Engine 3
. Universe at War: Earth Assault
from Sega and Lost Planet: Colonies Edition from Capcom include cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and Windows over Live.
On July 22, 2008, Microsoft's Chris Satchell, CTO of the company's Entertainment devices division, announced that Games For Windows – Live would be free to developers. Previously, select publishers and developers used the system and had to pay for it. Also, all Games For Windows – Live features were now free for gamers, such as matchmaking and cross-platform play. Satchell added that the move was a "way to improve Windows gaming".
As well as free multiplayer, Microsoft reduced the technical requirements for those developers looking to utilize Live such as removing playlist servers, and allowing studios to use the Microsoft matchmaking servers instead. The new Marketplace was made available for Games for Windows – Live on December 5, 2008. Microsoft also released the newly designed User Interface, on November 12, 2008.
On January 7, 2010, it was announced at CES that the upcoming Xbox Game Room would be made available on both the Xbox Live
and Games for Windows Live services. However, games purchased with 240 Microsoft Points will only be playable on one of the platforms; either Xbox 360 or PC. A dual-platform license will cost 400 Microsoft Points. As the Game Room will be available to Gold and Silver Xbox members, the service will be free to use on Games for Windows Live. Arcade games will feature achievements and online leaderboards.
Microsoft revealed on May 21, 2010 that Fable III
would be released on Windows as well as the Xbox 360
, and would feature Games for Windows – Live. The downloadable version will be a Games on Demand exclusive.
On August 17, 2010, Microsoft unveiled two new games at Gamescom
2010 that will use Games for Windows – LIVE, Age of Empires Online
and Microsoft Flight
. Age of Empires will be free-to-play through LIVE.
On September 24, 2010, Microsoft Game Studios’ general manager Dave Luehmann said in an interview the studio's renewed focus will start with three big titles—Fable III, Age of Empires Online and Microsoft Flight—which will use Games for Windows – LIVE. Luehmann reassured PC gamers that more big titles were on the way, however the studio plans to test new ideas.
on Microsoft's Games for Windows – Live, as well as, the Xbox Live
, Zune
and XNA
Creators Club. A Gamertag used online must be unique and can be up to 15 characters in length, including numbers, letters, and spaces.
A player's Gamertag account status can be checked using a variety of online tools, which is useful especially when looking for a new gamertag, or confirming that a Gamertag exists. Using a valid Gamertag, any player can be located and messaged from within Live. There are also several websites which allow users of Gamertags to upload photos and information about themselves.
system that measures the number of achievement points accumulated by a user with a LIVE profile. These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a level
or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in online matches.
All regular disc-based games must have 1,000 Gamerscore points in the base game; the title can ship with fewer than 1,000 points, but anything added later must be free. Game developer
s also have the option of adding up to 250 points via downloadable content every three months after the first year of release (for a total of 1,750 points).
On May 26, 2007, Halo 2
was the first Games for Windows – Live title to feature Achievements, which counted towards a player's Gamerscore.
Cambridge (United Kingdom
), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in many titles for Games for Windows – Live. It uses a mathematical model
of uncertainty to address weaknesses in existing ranking systems such as Elo
. For example, a new player joining million-player leagues can be ranked correctly in fewer than 20 games. It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different abilities.
When matchmaking, the system attempts to match individuals based on their estimated skill level. If two individuals are competing head-to-head and have the same estimated skill level with low estimate uncertainty, they should each have roughly a 50% chance of winning a match. In this way, the system attempts to make every match as competitive as possible.
In order to prevent abuse of the system, the majority of ranked games have relatively limited options for matchmaking. By design, players cannot easily play with their friends in ranked games. However, these countermeasures have failed due to techniques such as alternate account(s) and system flaws where each system has its own individual trueskill rating. To provide less competitive games, the system supports unranked Player Matches, which allow individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including "guests" on an account). Such matches do not contribute to the TrueSkill rating.
The current version of the in-game Live client is version 3.5.0088.0, released on May 6, 2011. It is available for Windows XP
(Service Pack 2 and above), Windows Vista
, and Windows 7 operating system
s. Version 3.0 added extended information about progress and some bugfixes. The client also auto-updates when users are logged-on to a Live-aware game.
With version 3.0 of the Games for Windows – Live service, a in-game marketplace was included; in addition to new account management tools, such as the ability to change a Gamertag for 800 Microsoft Points. The in-game marketplace enables users to purchase DLC
without exiting, as it installs the content directly from within the game.
service offering titles such as Resident Evil 5
and Battlestations: Pacific
. Also available are arcade games such as a free version of Microsoft Tinker
, a former exclusive to Windows Vista
Ultimate, as well as World of Goo
and Osmos
.
Some titles bought on Games on Demand include Server Side Authentication. This is a Games for Windows – Live 3.0 feature that automatically ties the game to your Windows Live ID
and the Gamertag associated to it. These games have no activation limits and can be re-installed multiple times. The majority of the other titles on the service use a SecuROM
DRM that lets the user activate the game up to five times each month on any hardware.
On June 8, 2010 some games which were previously not Games for Windows
titles were added for download. Microsoft claims that new titles will be added every week and there will be over 100 games by the end of 2010.
On October 22, 2010, Microsoft announced a revamp of Games On Demand under the new branding Games for Windows Marketplace. However, this was met with low expectations from reviewers, considering the history of Games for Windows Live on PC.
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
United Kingdom
United States
Games for Windows
Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
-branded PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
titles. It enables Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PCs to connect to the Live
Live Anywhere
Games for Windows – Live is an online gaming service for Games for Windows-branded PC titles. It enables Windows PCs to connect to the Live service, which will eventually include other devices including Windows Mobile and Zune...
service, which will eventually include other devices including Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
and Zune
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
. Users, each with a unique Gamertag, the Microsoft username service for gaming that began with the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
, are able to play online, keep track of their friends' status, send and receive messages, gain and keep track of Achievements and associated Gamerscore, voice chat across platforms, and much more. Some games allow for cross-platform play, such as Shadowrun
Shadowrun (2007 video game)
Shadowrun is an online only first-person shooter video game, developed by FASA Interactive for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. It was later cracked to work on Windows XP, confirming speculation that it was intentionally limited to Windows Vista. The game features a buying system which is greatly...
, putting Windows players against Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
players.
The service is open to 3rd-party developers, but they must be able to meet certain Technical Certification Requirements (TCRs), which include (but are not limited to): game ratings, total number of Gamerscore points, content, game profiles, and Live connectivity. Games for Windows – Live games must also meet standard Games for Windows (games that do not have Live support) TCRs. The same developer support infrastructure is available as with the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. Assistance to developers is provided through the Microsoft XNA
Microsoft XNA
Microsoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates video game development and management. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing "repetitive boilerplate code" and to bring different aspects of game production into a single system...
Developer Connection.
History
The first Games for Windows – Live-enabled title was ShadowrunShadowrun (2007 video game)
Shadowrun is an online only first-person shooter video game, developed by FASA Interactive for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. It was later cracked to work on Windows XP, confirming speculation that it was intentionally limited to Windows Vista. The game features a buying system which is greatly...
, which launched simultaneously on Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on May 29, 2007, and was also the first LIVE title to offer cross-platform play between Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on the Live service.
Another game that was released is Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
for Windows Vista, which was launched to the public on May 31, 2007. The game supports all the standard Live features (such as achievements, voice chat, messages, etc.), but does not offer cross-platform play with Xbox 360 players.
Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, Eidos
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, and THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
have signed on to include Games for Windows – Live in their upcoming games. Epic Games
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
also included this service in their game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
Unreal Engine 3
Unreal Engine 3
Unreal Engine 3 is a computer game engine developed by Epic Games. It is the third generation of Unreal Engine, designed for DirectX 9/10/11 personal computers , the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Vita, the Wii U, Android and OpenGL-based operating systems such as iOS and Mac OS X...
. Universe at War: Earth Assault
Universe at War: Earth Assault
Universe at War: Earth Assault is a real-time strategy game originally to be named Invasion: Earth, developed by Petroglyph and published by Sega...
from Sega and Lost Planet: Colonies Edition from Capcom include cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and Windows over Live.
On July 22, 2008, Microsoft's Chris Satchell, CTO of the company's Entertainment devices division, announced that Games For Windows – Live would be free to developers. Previously, select publishers and developers used the system and had to pay for it. Also, all Games For Windows – Live features were now free for gamers, such as matchmaking and cross-platform play. Satchell added that the move was a "way to improve Windows gaming".
As well as free multiplayer, Microsoft reduced the technical requirements for those developers looking to utilize Live such as removing playlist servers, and allowing studios to use the Microsoft matchmaking servers instead. The new Marketplace was made available for Games for Windows – Live on December 5, 2008. Microsoft also released the newly designed User Interface, on November 12, 2008.
On January 7, 2010, it was announced at CES that the upcoming Xbox Game Room would be made available on both the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
and Games for Windows Live services. However, games purchased with 240 Microsoft Points will only be playable on one of the platforms; either Xbox 360 or PC. A dual-platform license will cost 400 Microsoft Points. As the Game Room will be available to Gold and Silver Xbox members, the service will be free to use on Games for Windows Live. Arcade games will feature achievements and online leaderboards.
Microsoft revealed on May 21, 2010 that Fable III
Fable III
Fable III is the third video game in the Fable series of action role-playing games . The game was developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The story focuses on the player character's struggle to overthrow the King of Albion by...
would be released on Windows as well as the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and would feature Games for Windows – Live. The downloadable version will be a Games on Demand exclusive.
On August 17, 2010, Microsoft unveiled two new games at Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
2010 that will use Games for Windows – LIVE, Age of Empires Online
Age of Empires Online
Age of Empires Online , is a history-based real-time strategy computer game released on August 16, 2011 with digital download and retail distribution. It was originally being developed by Robot Entertainment, but on February 24, 2011, it was announced that Gas Powered Games, the creators of Supreme...
and Microsoft Flight
Microsoft Flight
Microsoft Flight is the title of a new flight simulator from Microsoft Studios announced in August 2010, intended to replace the long-running discontinued Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise that has existed for nearly 30 years. In January 2011, Microsoft announced it would be compatible with...
. Age of Empires will be free-to-play through LIVE.
On September 24, 2010, Microsoft Game Studios’ general manager Dave Luehmann said in an interview the studio's renewed focus will start with three big titles—Fable III, Age of Empires Online and Microsoft Flight—which will use Games for Windows – LIVE. Luehmann reassured PC gamers that more big titles were on the way, however the studio plans to test new ideas.
Games for Windows – Live features
- Achievements earned during gameplay.
- Gamerscores amounting the total of a user's achievement points.
- Rep voted by other users preferring or avoiding the user. Rep defaults to five stars over time after the user has been preferred by at least one other user.
- Friends listContact listA contact list is a collection of screen names in an instant messaging or e-mail program or online game or mobile phone. It has various trademarked and proprietary names in different contexts....
displaying the user's chosen friends of up to 100. - Recent players list displaying the last 50 players the user has met.
- Complaint system allowing users to file reports of other users that have broken Live Terms of Use.
- Games for Windows Marketplace offering downloadable content for games, music and movies.
- Private chat via VoiceVoice chatVoice chat is a modern form of communication used on the Internet. The means of communicating with voice chat is through any of the messengers, mainly Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, inSpeak Communicator or Windows Live Messenger...
and text. - Multiplayer gameplay via Games for Windows – Live.
- Matchmaking depending on the user's cumulative gamerscore, rep, location, language and gamer zone.
- Family settingsParental controlsParental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile phones and computer software...
controlling younger users' exposure to other users. - Game RoomGame RoomGame Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
virtual arcade space offering a library of classic retro games. - Cross-platformCross-platformIn computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
gameplay - Games on DemandWindows Games on DemandThis is a list of 212 released and 13 upcoming Games on Demand for the Microsoft Windows platform.-See also:*Xbox 360 Games on Demand*Games for Windows – Live*List of Games for Windows – Live titles*List of Games for Windows titles*Live Anywhere...
Gamertag
A Gamertag is the universal name for a player's usernameUser (computing)
A user is an agent, either a human agent or software agent, who uses a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified by a username , screen name , nickname , or handle, which is derived from the identical Citizen's Band radio term.Users are...
on Microsoft's Games for Windows – Live, as well as, the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
, Zune
Zune
Zune is a digital media brand owned by Microsoft which includes a line of portable media players, a digital media player software for Windows machines, a music subscription service known as a 'Zune Music Pass', music and video streaming for the Xbox 360 via the Zune Software, music, TV and movie...
and XNA
Microsoft XNA
Microsoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates video game development and management. XNA attempts to free game developers from writing "repetitive boilerplate code" and to bring different aspects of game production into a single system...
Creators Club. A Gamertag used online must be unique and can be up to 15 characters in length, including numbers, letters, and spaces.
A player's Gamertag account status can be checked using a variety of online tools, which is useful especially when looking for a new gamertag, or confirming that a Gamertag exists. Using a valid Gamertag, any player can be located and messaged from within Live. There are also several websites which allow users of Gamertags to upload photos and information about themselves.
Gamerscore
The Gamerscore (G) is an achievementsAchievement (video gaming)
In video gaming parlance, an achievement, also sometimes known as a trophy or challenge, is a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters...
system that measures the number of achievement points accumulated by a user with a LIVE profile. These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a level
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in online matches.
All regular disc-based games must have 1,000 Gamerscore points in the base game; the title can ship with fewer than 1,000 points, but anything added later must be free. Game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
s also have the option of adding up to 250 points via downloadable content every three months after the first year of release (for a total of 1,750 points).
On May 26, 2007, Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
was the first Games for Windows – Live title to feature Achievements, which counted towards a player's Gamerscore.
Gamercard
The Gamercard is an information panel used to summarize a user's Live profile. The pieces of information on a Gamercard include: the user's Gamertag (in front a silver or gold bar), reputation, Gamerscore, Gamer Zone and recently played games.TrueSkill
TrueSkill is a ranking and matchmaking system premiering in the Live services. Developed at Microsoft ResearchMicrosoft Research
Microsoft Research is the research division of Microsoft created in 1991 for developing various computer science ideas and integrating them into Microsoft products. It currently employs Turing Award winners C.A.R. Hoare, Butler Lampson, and Charles P...
Cambridge (United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in many titles for Games for Windows – Live. It uses a mathematical model
Mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used not only in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines A mathematical model is a...
of uncertainty to address weaknesses in existing ranking systems such as Elo
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
. For example, a new player joining million-player leagues can be ranked correctly in fewer than 20 games. It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different abilities.
When matchmaking, the system attempts to match individuals based on their estimated skill level. If two individuals are competing head-to-head and have the same estimated skill level with low estimate uncertainty, they should each have roughly a 50% chance of winning a match. In this way, the system attempts to make every match as competitive as possible.
In order to prevent abuse of the system, the majority of ranked games have relatively limited options for matchmaking. By design, players cannot easily play with their friends in ranked games. However, these countermeasures have failed due to techniques such as alternate account(s) and system flaws where each system has its own individual trueskill rating. To provide less competitive games, the system supports unranked Player Matches, which allow individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including "guests" on an account). Such matches do not contribute to the TrueSkill rating.
User interface
The user interface or "Guide" was changed from earlier versions (Made to match the Xbox 360's original appearance) to a new appearance. The guide includes messaging (text and voice), friends list, recent players, private chat, and personal settings.The current version of the in-game Live client is version 3.5.0088.0, released on May 6, 2011. It is available for Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
(Service Pack 2 and above), Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, and Windows 7 operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s. Version 3.0 added extended information about progress and some bugfixes. The client also auto-updates when users are logged-on to a Live-aware game.
Marketplace
The marketplace client was officially released on December 4, 2009. It initially launched with demos and trailers of games available on the Live service. Full titles were later added in the form of Games on Demand.With version 3.0 of the Games for Windows – Live service, a in-game marketplace was included; in addition to new account management tools, such as the ability to change a Gamertag for 800 Microsoft Points. The in-game marketplace enables users to purchase DLC
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
without exiting, as it installs the content directly from within the game.
Games on Demand
On December 15, 2009, Microsoft launched Games on Demand, a digital distributionDigital distribution
Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...
service offering titles such as Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe...
and Battlestations: Pacific
Battlestations: Pacific
Battlestations: Pacific is an action and real-time tactics video game published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Eidos Hungary. It is also the sequel to the 2007 video game Battlestations: Midway. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on May 12, 2009 in North America, and on May...
. Also available are arcade games such as a free version of Microsoft Tinker
Microsoft Tinker
Microsoft Tinker is a puzzle video game in which the player controls a robot through various mazes and obstacle courses. It was originally released on September 23, 2008 as part of Windows Ultimate Extras, and contained 60 levels including a 20-level tutorial...
, a former exclusive to Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
Ultimate, as well as World of Goo
World of Goo
World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game by 2D Boy, an independent game developer consisting of Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel, both former Electronic Arts employees, released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android and WiiWare...
and Osmos
Osmos
Osmos is a puzzle video game developed by Canadian developer Hemisphere Games for different systems as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The game was made available on Steam on 17 August 2009. The Android port was also hinted to be in development...
.
Some titles bought on Games on Demand include Server Side Authentication. This is a Games for Windows – Live 3.0 feature that automatically ties the game to your Windows Live ID
Windows Live ID
Windows Live ID is a single sign-on web service developed and provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account...
and the Gamertag associated to it. These games have no activation limits and can be re-installed multiple times. The majority of the other titles on the service use a SecuROM
SecuROM
SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection and digital rights management product developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and attempts at reverse engineering software. It is most often used for commercial computer games running under the...
DRM that lets the user activate the game up to five times each month on any hardware.
On June 8, 2010 some games which were previously not Games for Windows
Games for Windows
Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
titles were added for download. Microsoft claims that new titles will be added every week and there will be over 100 games by the end of 2010.
On October 22, 2010, Microsoft announced a revamp of Games On Demand under the new branding Games for Windows Marketplace. However, this was met with low expectations from reviewers, considering the history of Games for Windows Live on PC.
Availability
As of November 10, 2010 Games for Windows – Live is available in 35 countries/territories. Users in other countries can access Live without problems by creating a Gamertag using an address from a supported country, although no technical support is available outside of the supported countries.Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
See also
- List of Games for Windows titles
- List of Games for Windows – Live titles
- Windows Games on DemandWindows Games on DemandThis is a list of 212 released and 13 upcoming Games on Demand for the Microsoft Windows platform.-See also:*Xbox 360 Games on Demand*Games for Windows – Live*List of Games for Windows – Live titles*List of Games for Windows titles*Live Anywhere...
- Live AnywhereLive AnywhereGames for Windows – Live is an online gaming service for Games for Windows-branded PC titles. It enables Windows PCs to connect to the Live service, which will eventually include other devices including Windows Mobile and Zune...