Games for Windows Live Marketplace Closing Next Week

67
Alan Pettit

The Games for Windows Live service has had a bit of a sordid history. Originally launched in 2007, it was supposed to bring the ease of Xbox Live gaming to the PC. It never quite worked. There was originally an extra fee that developers had to pay simply to feature their game on the service (which was revoked a year later), and a litany of other restrictions for developers, publishers, and gamers alike. The service has largely been shunned by the gaming community, and very few titles have utilized it.

With the release of the Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft has revamped their PC gaming stance and found much more success. It appeared that GFWL had been abandoned, with only two games coming this year, and nothing since the long delayed Ms. Splosion Man in April. Microsoft has now officially announced it will stop selling any GFWL titles through xbox.com and the GFWL software client. Existing games will be supported by the service (you can still earn Gamerscore from them, in other words), so long as you can find a copy in the wild and the game's publisher decides to support any online component or DLC through in-game purchases.

You have until August 22nd to purchase any content through xbox.com and the GFWL software client. After that date, none of the digital titles will be available anywhere, and only physical copies already at retailers or on the second hand market will be available for purchase.

For the official Microsoft FAQ about this change, see here. For the official x360a FAQ about the Games for Windows Live serice and a complete list of available GFWL titles, see here.

Comments
67
  • windows 8 sucks
  • No big loss
  • Thank you for that contribution #1...this was a decent service that could've done so much more. At least Windows 8 makes games much easier to d/l buy and and find.
  • yeah, windows 8 sucks almost as much as GFWL....
  • @ #1, I agree
  • Windows 8 is absolutely fine once you download an app like Start8 for less than $5. It gives you back the Start button and boots you straight to the desktop. Apart from the Metro interface, which I haven't even seen in months on my Windows 8 machine, it's basically just Windows 7 with some improvements.
  • Doesn't affect me. I buy all my PC games in a physical form, if possible. I'm gonna try to buy Halo 2 sometime soon for PC, and get some achievements out of it. It's kind of funny, when you get achievements from a PC title and there are other people who don't know what "PC" means. I get asked this all the time when people see I got "GTA IV PC" on my achievement list.
  • What about games I purchased but did not download + install yet? Do I have to download it now and have no option to re-download if for example my hdd crashes or something?
  • NOOOO!!!! I won't be able to download Tinker for my new computer?! I don't think I'll be able to live anymore. JK LOL but still now I won't be able to get extra achievements for these unless any of these games are downloaded to one of my 2 very old and very slow computer!
  • Im gonna have to figure out how to get Microsoft Flight to work again than. Since I changed my sign in email, the key doesnt work anymore. I guess I will try using a key I get with a different profile and use it on my main account. I actually liked flying around in that game.
  • @8: The FAQ I linked says you should be able to download any previously purchased content. :)
  • Does any have the full list of games and download content that's no available on disc? Achievement games of course
  • Looks like I might have to finally give in and purchase Where's Waldo before it is gone forever.
  • @1 @5 i agree with you both but oh wait we'll get down voted. Mountain Lion > w8.
  • at least I can still continue to earn and play on dawn of war 2 so im happy
  • @12: The second FAQ I linked (the one I wrote on our forums) contains every game, with the digital arcade games in their own section.
  • I had no issues with GFWL, it let me get Xbox achievements and Private Chat with a friend on Xbox and didn't really get in my way at all. Oh well I only had a small handful of games for it anyway. I hope they bring its cross-platform functions to the Games for Windows store on Windows 8.
  • @13 waaaay tooooooo late for that
  • Bah looks like I have missed my chance to get Where's Waldo as it has been removed from the marketplace, but Blacklight: Tango Down is listed for $0.99 or 80 MSP.
  • Another shining example of why physical copies will always be better than digital downloads.
  • Any of these arcade games worth picking up besides Blacklight Tango Down? I can get the rest on disc or steam.
  • They drop the prices? I remember wanting Batman Arkham Asylum (the regular version to stack more achievements) but they wanted $50 for it.
  • This should be added to the article, Steam has removed all DLC for GfWL games so better get the dlc now or you might not be able to later. Since the FAQ said you might or might not be able to buy the dlc in game.
  • I'll wait till the day before and hope they'll mark everything down to $0.99 or free.
  • no one cares, i guess
  • RiP G4WL. Unlike the majority of people I did not hate you. At least I have all the content I want because they seriously stripped the marketplace.
  • Don't look so surprised this will be xbox360 in a year or so, the ole finger from Microshaft
  • Windows 8 sucks? With Windows 7 on my current machine I had a 4 min wait to start up from a cold boot. With Windows 8 that time is reduced to 1.5 min or less. The system seems to handle my graphics card a lot better with Windows 8 than it did with Windows 7 and a lot of my programs seem to run a lot smoother. My only gripe is having to pay for an app that launches me to right to desktop mode but hell Windows 8.1 a free update due out sometime here soon will do that with a setting change so I really don't see a reason to complain. Besides its just a click away to desktop mode anyways...
  • If there's a game you want from GFWL... go ahead and buy it while you can. If you're planning on upgrading your computer to one that can run a game your current PC can't handle... at least you'll own the license so you can download it when you have a PC that can run it! :-) BTW... "Halo 2 for Windows PC" (it actually says "For Vista") still has the MP servers online. I thought they were supposed to shutdown in June of this year, but when I logged onto it a few weeks ago... it was still up! If you can find a copy of the game, you can still get the MP achievements for it!!!
  • I've always hated it but used it for Achievements
  • @28 Yeah, it does - for me anyway. I can't replicate your findings. I'm running: i7 2700K (@stock) 16GB DDR3 2x 2GB Radeon HD 6950's (Crossfire) 256GB SATA III SSD (Partitiioned in half, Win7 X64 on one, Win7 x64 on the other) 128GB SATA III SSD (Partitioned in half, Win7 Temp and Swap on one, Win8 Temp and Swap on the other) 3x 23" Monitors running at 5960x1080 with Eyefinity At boot I launch: Steam Skype Firefox 2nd Instance of Firefox with alternate profile Thunderbird Fences In Win8, you also have to add Start8 to that lineup. Win7 gets me to a usable desktop approximately 50% faster. I couldn't even use the Win8 start screen if I wanted to because it doesn't scale applications properly for superwide resolutions - essentially, unless you limit it to a single screen it's useless. So in short, on my system, Win8 is slower and far less usable. Ergo, it's not a step forwards, and I'd consider that it really does suck.
  • I just read that Steam is going to be changing some of their GFWL titles to Steam ones once the closing happens. Arkham Asylum and Bioshock 2 are supposedly going first. Currently, you can play these games on GFWL for the achievements. Does anyone know if they're changing that option to download the GFWL version from Steam? What would happen if you already have the GFWL version installed? I think these are important questions that the news team may want to look into.
  • @32 - thanks for the heads up. Just in case, I've turned off Auto-Update on my GFWL titles in Steam.
  • @28: Your computer certainly sucks. I run Windows 7 and I get to its desktop from a cold boot faster than you get to your Windows 8 desktop.
  • Never used any of it, so its no big loss. Down vote me for all I care.
  • Just dont get the problem of no start button, you still click in the corner anyway. Proves i didnt really use it in previous versions. As i changed pcs its hard to tell but its on a par with win7 and for me goes straight into the desktop.
  • I kinda liked GFWL never gave me issues, just bought another version of Batman and will knock it out before the 22nd, although from what I have read and understand, achievements aren't affected on retail games or already installed digi content.
  • That's going to be a lot of games that won't be able to be complete if you don't have the DLC. What's going to happen to Age of Empires Online?
  • Well poop, just as I get back into it.
  • There's not even a sale? :(
  • @7 - Maybe they thought it meant something like "GTA IV - Politically correct version"? ;-) OT: Farewell, GFWL, I never once used you!
  • Never mind about AoE I see you can buy all the DLC on steam.
  • as long as they do keep supporting whats already on it then good riddance, it was a blight on every PC game it touched... now if only EA would give up on origin the world really would be a better place
  • I can't say that this will be missed. I've had no end of troubles with the service (random disconnects, games not running, not being able to sign in, not recognising my password, having to reinstall multiple times, constant crashing, etc.). It was terrible, and you could see that Microsoft never cared enough to update it. Even as the 360 was updated, and made to look closer to their Metro interface, GFWL stayed the same (though I preferred it to the disgusting green squares their other services have, the point is they didn't update anything).
  • Wait a second, does that meat that I won't be able to buy USF IV for PC? Or titles like Street Fighter will be on steam(like @32 said)?
  • @45 It means you won't be able to buy it from the GFWL store. If you find it on another digital store or on retail disc then no problem.
  • Out of all this 5 years i only gotten tinker, flight, and age of empire (what they are free). The only place I buy my games is from steam, iwonder what steam is going to do to Microsoft flight and age of empire.
  • Such a shame.. I actually enjoyed the GFWL client, and unlike these other 10,000 people out there who seem to have problem after problem with the thing, I've never really had any issues with it....Sad to see it go. :(
  • Will this affect steam based games too, such as age of empires online?
  • @46 Thanks for the answer!
  • So how about a mega sale on GFWL Marketplace?
  • It was a huge flop like most things MS touches. I never liked though tried to utilize more than once.... Shitty set up and lack of titles was it's demise. Seems like they weren't event rying with it, so good riddance.
  • @45 Capcom hasn't been releasing G4WL games for a little bit now. They've switched to Steamworks.
  • windows 8 only sucks if your'e a complete imbecile
  • Five Things 1. If someone has where is waldo? could i play on the PC with my profile? 2. Second i am having trouble getting game room on my PC. Any help would be appreciated. 3. i like GFWL, granted i didn't realize this is how i could get games. No wonder i couldn't find world of GOO. 4. i i start buying the disc games, is there a way i could get the DLC? 5 Also if i get the Age of empires DLC or bioshock dlc through steam, do i still get achievements from them?
  • you can still re-download all purchased stuff, right?
  • @45 That depends. Retails copies certainly won't be affected. However, some games are abandoning GFWL with this news. Steam currently offers Bioshock 2 and Arkham Asylum with GFWL, but are changing this in the near future. It depends on the title really. So, if I were you I would download any digital content now to prevent changes to it. @56 From the GFWL store, yes. You can still access anything in your purchase history.
  • Also if i have the DLC for xbox do i have it on the PC? Also vice versa. If i bought DLC through GFWL do i get it on the 360?
  • @55 1. Do you mean if someone else had the game installed and signed in with your profile? If it was GFWL I would imagine so. I lent my friend my copy of Fallout 3 GOTY for PC and he played it just fine. However, only one person could access it at a time and you had to reenter the software code each time. 2.Well, that's a tad bit vague. I would suggest going to the forums for said game for help with that, but since a multi-platform game shares its forum don't expect solid advice from this site. If the Steam store has the game, I would suggest going to their forum for advice. 4. That's a tricky question. I would assume that the game's in-game option for DLC purchases will be diasbled. Therefore, you'd be better off buying the DLCs now or getting a GOTY edition if available for the game like Fallout 3 or Warhammer. 5. Excellent question. It depends on the game for now. This is what is worrying me. For now Bioshock 2 is available on Steam, but with no DLC. You have to purchase that from the GFWL store. However, Steam is changing some titles to remove GFWL entirely like Bioshock 2 and Arkham Asylum. These new changes will allow them to carry the DLC with Steam achievements, but *no Live/XBOX achievements*.
  • @58 No, they're entirely different. Purchases are separated from GFWL titles and XBOX titles. However, some DLCs are cheaper on GFWL currently because of lack of demand like Bioshock 2's DLCs. I would purchase the GFWL versions of DLCs now since the XBOX ones have no immediate danger of being removed.
  • @ 59 and 60 Thanks for your help. This information helps me greatly. The game i can't get is "Game Room". when i go to the link there is no buy option on xbox.com .
  • 32: Your computer opens Steam, Firefox TWICE, and Thunderbird right as soon as the thing starts up? No wonder you're running slow, mother fucker, pull some of those items. Open those one at a time or as you need them, don't make the computer do it all at once and then bitch about how it can't support it...
  • And may it rest in piece. I still used it to this very day. I'm running windows 8 as well, I found the GFWL client better because I could find all the proper GFWL games instead of scrolling through an unsorted mess of indi games. too bad.
  • Also unable to get Game Room due to no buy link. Picked up Flight, Tinker, and AoE for free, and paid $1 for Blacklight: Tango Down. Will keep an eye out for more specials, but otherwise the regular prices are quite high.
  • @20 Why because GFWL sucked? Everyone uses Steam or places like Origin, Green Man Gaming, etc. anyways.
  • Are they for real not putting everything on sale? Why the f*ck not? They will never see a red cent from these games ever again....
  • They have now closed the marketplace so that's the end of it.
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