Despite some recent online reports, Xbox doesn’t seem to be moving away from game launches on Steam. In fact, the company – Microsoft’s gaming division – should be bolstering its presence within PC gaming. Its next gaming system, Project Helix, will be able to play Xbox and PC games, after all. One avenue to explore is opening up Battle.net to third-party developers.

Jez Corden of Windows Central says Xbox will be “doubling down on PC gaming” in a report posted earlier today. He states Microsoft is “absolutely not exploring” exiting the Steam platform right now, but there’s every reason to believe the company is re-evaluating its relationship with Windows gaming. Battle.net remains largely focused on Blizzard titles, but that may change.

Could Microsoft open Battle.net up to more developers?

Along with maintaining Xbox Game Pass as a source of first-party games on PC, Steam sits alongside rival platforms such as Battle.net and the Epic Games Store. Battle.net is currently the odd one out here, as it is a closed ecosystem for Blizzard titles and select partner games. Corden suggests Microsoft and Blizzard may open up Battle.net so it operates more like the others.

I’ve received information from multiple trusted sources that Microsoft and Blizzard have been planning to open Battle.net up to third-party developers. It’s unclear if that’s still the plan under new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, but so far, I’m not yet seeing evidence that the plans here were canceled.

Source: Jez Corden, via Windows Central Insider

According to PCGamingWiki, Battle.net is currently home to a total of 41 titles, all of which belong to Microsoft (after its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023). The platform is most notable for exclusively hosting popular Blizzard titles such as World of Warcraft and Overwatch, and while the latter is indeed on Steam, it still requires a Battle.net account.

Thanks to its popular exclusive titles, Battle.net enjoys a healthy amount of monthly users, which Microsoft may be hoping to tap into a little more. Other than Blizzard-developed titles, the platform hosts an array of Call of Duty titles and Xbox Game Studios-published titles such as Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2, both available via PC Game Pass.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.