Whoa! Microsoft adds Steam games to Windows 11’s Xbox beta app
Image: Microsoft
This is an Xbox. If you’re reading these words on any kind of web-connected screen, especially if it’s a Windows PC, Microsoft wants you to think that. To double down on its everything, everywhere, all at once strategy, and in advance of that new Asus ROG Xbox Ally, Microsoft is aggregating PC games in the Xbox PC app, starting with Steam.
The latest version of the Xbox app for PC, accessible via the “Insider Hub” program (a beta, separate from the Windows Insider builds of Windows 11 itself), can now see your Steam library. The new functionality was announced on the Xbox blog, and spotted by The Verge.
“When a player installs a game from a supported PC storefront, it will automatically appear in ‘My library’ within the Xbox PC app, as well as the ‘Most recent’ list of titles in the sidebar — making it easier than ever to jump back into your games,” the post explains.
Since most of my shameful PC game collection is indeed inside Steam, with only a handful of freebies and Sea of Thieves connected to my Microsoft/Xbox account, I loaded up the Insider Hub and launched the Xbox app to check it out. Sadly it’s not spotting my Steam library games, even a couple of titles I downloaded just for this article, despite showing that I’m running on the Xbox Insider build. Womp-womp.
Maybe there’s a reason Microsoft name-checked Battle.net (which Microsoft owns) in its post while studiously avoiding naming Steam, only citing “other leading PC storefronts.”
Microsoft says that other PC-based storefronts will be coming to this interface soon. Which is good, because by the time the ROG Xbox Ally launches later this year, it needs to be firing on all cylinders. Despite the Xbox branding, the PC gaming handheld will be running Windows 11, complete with an overhauled, slimmed-down, console-style interface that aims to help it compete with the Steam Deck. It’s a small part of Microsoft’s pivot to being a publishing and subscription powerhouse, leaning more on software and services than selling hardware.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
