Posted Mon Aug 19, 2013 at 08:30 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
'Batman: Arkham Origins' will be the first Arkham title without Microsoft's troublesome Windows platform.
Last week, news that 'Ultra Street Fighter IV' for the PC would be the first flavor of 'Street Fighter IV' to appear on the PC without Games for Windows Live came as a nice to surprise to the many, many detractors of the troublesome service. Now, after 'Batman: Arkham Asylum' and 'Batman: Arkham City' saw tons of complaints from users unable to access their game or unable to trust the game's save system, the Warner Bros. has told IGN that 'Batman: Arkham Origins' will be free of Microsoft's GFWL service, and will instead rely on Steam's achievement and DRM system.
With 'Batman: Arkham Origins' set to be the first game in the 'Arkham' series to have multiplayer, the choice not to go with GFWL will affects any users that depend their Xbox Live friends list for multiplayer in Windows.
Not only is this good news for those users that have been unable to navigate the tricky service, but it also seems likely that GFWL may be out of favor altogether. The eight year platform was introduced as a way to standardize and solve common PC game issues by providing a streamlined install and run process. Not only was that goal never achieved, but Microsoft's switch from delayed PC ports of big franchises like 'HALO' and 'Gears of War' to no PC ports at all, robbed the service of several marquee titles.
With Microsoft removing the PC game sales option from Xbox.com, a quiet death seems in store for GFWL. Naturally, like a gift that keeps on giving, games that already use the service will likely suffer the most. The present workarounds employed by many PC users will have to grow in order to make sure that GFWL games can still be played.
Source: IGN
Author: Brian Hoss
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