Do you have a source for that? As far as I know, Microsoft never gave much of a damn about making Linux versions of games. They did have an Xbox parity clause for games that came to other consoles, but that’s pretty different than what you’re saying.
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Jhex@lemmy.world 2 days agowhen Windows “challenges” others, they don’t compete on merit… it’s easier to blackmail game developers by threatening to kick them out of Windows / Xbox platforms if they develop for Linux… this is how we ended up with “windows is the only os for gaming” back in the 90s
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Jhex@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I learnt most of the story from this book Renegades of the Empire
The story is summarized here: gist.github.com/kirkegaard/1055336
It’s all about how DirectX/Direct3D was launching and competing with OpenGL (the open standard).
In a nutshell, MS literally ported games for free to Windows (Doom95 being the flagship example) and/or subsidized the development of games for Direct3D so there would be no appetite for OpenGL.
This is equivalent to Amazon or Walmart selling their stuff at a loss until all competitors go bankrupt
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Well, the truth of that is quite a bit different than how you put it, and it’s also more carrot than stick. There were efforts to make Linux versions of games after this adoption of DirectX, and they didn’t take; I have a Linux disc for Unreal Tournament 2004 that came in the same box as the Windows one. What Microsoft did surely sucked for everyone, but fortunately, we live in a world where their recent efforts to do similar things aren’t working. They didn’t manage to siphon PC gaming over the Windows Store, and Windows handhelds are demonstrably worse and sell worse than the Linux ones. Consoles’ walled gardens are slowly crumbling from natural market forces to the openness of PC, and that includes a PC where almost all of those games work on Linux.
Microsoft does not have a position of strength here right now, and they know it, so they instead pivoted to just being an enormous publisher with a subscription service that’s lucrative but has already plateaued.
Jhex@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Well, the truth of that is quite a bit different than how you put it, and it’s also more carrot than stick.
True, I misremembered… however, this is anti-competitive practice 101 anyway
What Microsoft did surely sucked for everyone, but fortunately, we live in a world where their recent efforts to do similar things aren’t working.
But the fact they keep trying these anti-competitive strategies and have no consequences for them is a problem. We cannot rely on “it didn’t work for them this time” as if that is a solution because next time it would work for them and then we are all fucked for another few decades
ogeist@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Yes but that’s it right, they are not developing for Linux, Steam is doing it for the developer. There is nothing stopping Windows of saying sell exclusively through my Store, though I believe they have tried.
But I do understand were you are coming from Windows is definitely not the most ethical company and definitely they are not up for fair fight, what I’m trying to say is that I hope the game developers focus more in the mobile market and optimize the games more.
dustyData@lemmy.world 2 days ago
No, you see. Corporations have no rights. People have rights. Corporations can have legal protections, but not rights.