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Visual Studio 2019 dropping UWP as target platform - implications for gaming ?



Looks like Microsoft might be quietly withdrawing from UWP project - this is great news for gamers as UWP made all modding impossible and was part of why Microsoft Store was barely usable.

Also since main goal of UWP was joining console, phones and pc there's no real point in continuing it when windows phone is officially dead and xbox is slowly changing into service.

When we put it together with Halo coming to Steam and Windows Store it might be a sign that Microsoft is returning to their pre windows 10 days.
 

DanielsM

Banned
I wouldn't necessarily read too much into this at this time, but UWP was DOA in 2015. They had basically abandoned mobile, and there was really no reason for it to exist. Microsoft probably doesn't care if a gamer/software user buys from Microsoft Store as much anymore, they'll get those users down the road when they stop offering Windows natively. They want users to buy digitally, and this is an issue with traditional console players.

- Windows Virtual Desktop Service : currently in preview https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/21/windows-virtual-desktop-is-now-in-public-preview/
- xCloud Game Streaming Service will be in preview/beta later in the year
- I would not be surprised by an application layer via Azure i.e. the ability to run win32/uwp from Azure on any platform as a Service.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Windo...ps-through-remote-Azure-servers.281334.0.html

Once all the services are up, they can send out of the end of life notices (probably a few years out yet) on Windows 10 and all those people if they wish to run win32 will have to procure a service from Microsoft at some point.

Microsoft is returning to their pre windows 10 days

At this point its not about UWP, its about SERVICES i.e. subscriptions on the OS which will run from the cloud. They would rather you use the Microsoft Store, but any digital store is an alternative as long as you stay on Windows/Xbox and for the Xbox users they must buy digitally as the cloud doesn't run physical media. Until the services are complete than they will try and sell you the services to run win32 from the cloud - if you don't like it... that will be the end of the road for you and Windows. Xbox, UWP and Win32 can eventually be offered as solely a cloud service accessible on most device platforms. (just don't forget to pay your subscription)

So.

You want to run Adobe Photoshop or play your games from Steam, cool by them, you login to your Microsoft account via client software/web access your windows virtual desktop from there and start PS or your Steam library game. Of course, don't forget to pay your monthly or annual fee for the VD. As I said, Microsoft is playing the long game - you don't want to buy from the MS Store, cool, every day you are getting further and further into the spider web - thinking the whole time you have options. :messenger_tears_of_joy:

 
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CuNi

Member
I wouldn't necessarily read too much into this at this time, but UWP was DOA in 2015. They had basically abandoned mobile, and there was really no reason for it to exist. Microsoft probably doesn't care if a gamer/software user buys from Microsoft Store as much anymore, they'll get those users down the road when they stop offering Windows natively. They want users to buy digitally, and this is an issue with traditional console players.

- Windows Virtual Desktop Service : currently in preview https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/21/windows-virtual-desktop-is-now-in-public-preview/
- xCloud Game Streaming Service will be in preview/beta later in the year
- I would not be surprised by an application layer via Azure i.e. the ability to run win32/uwp from Azure on any platform as a Service.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Windo...ps-through-remote-Azure-servers.281334.0.html

Once all the services are up, they can send out of the end of life notices (probably a few years out yet) on Windows 10 and all those people if they wish to run win32 will have to procure a service from Microsoft at some point.



At this point its not about UWP, its about SERVICES i.e. subscriptions on the OS which will run from the cloud. They would rather you use the Microsoft Store, but any digital store is an alternative as long as you stay on Windows/Xbox and for the Xbox users they must buy digitally as the cloud doesn't run physical media. Until the services are complete than they will try and sell you the services to run win32 from the cloud - if you don't like it... that will be the end of the road for you and Windows. Xbox, UWP and Win32 can eventually be offered as solely a cloud service accessible on most device platforms. (just don't forget to pay your subscription)

So.

You want to run Adobe Photoshop or play your games from Steam, cool by them, you login to your Microsoft account via client software/web access your windows virtual desktop from there and start PS or your Steam library game. Of course, don't forget to pay your monthly or annual fee for the VD. As I said, Microsoft is playing the long game - you don't want to buy from the MS Store, cool, every day you are getting further and further into the spider web - thinking the whole time you have options. :messenger_tears_of_joy:



I don't think that would work out for them. If they do that, not only would most of gamers and professionals voice their concerns and look for ways to jump ship, I also bet that companies would heavily start to invest in porting their software to other available OS. Suddenly locking a feature out behind a pay wall would be a huge blow to Microsoft earnings. I don't think that will happen anytime soon or even at all.
 

Calibos

Member
Windows central guy Jez Corden has hinted around about UWP going away for a while and all of MS latest moves in their catalog releases points to this as well. Good on them if true...Walled garden be damned.
 

DanielsM

Banned
I don't think that would work out for them. If they do that, not only would most of gamers and professionals voice their concerns and look for ways to jump ship, I also bet that companies would heavily start to invest in porting their software to other available OS. Suddenly locking a feature out behind a pay wall would be a huge blow to Microsoft earnings. I don't think that will happen anytime soon or even at all.

The world should be doing as you suggest today i.e. looking for a new open OS but it doesn't look like its happening. Microsoft doesn't care what we think, if people are not willing to buy UWP from the MS Store, they will transition Windows into a cloud OS, they already are anyway. There is nothing they can't provide from the cloud from their perspective. Windows will not go away, but its in the process of being moved to a cloud subscription. Cloud service make up the vast majority of Microsoft's earnings, not Windows, and Windows would not disappear. Microsoft will be almost entirely cloud based in 5 years or so, right now about 60%+ is purely cloud, depending on your definition of cloud. You are talking years out, the services are now just starting to rollout, in a few years they can than roll out the end of life notices to Windows users - offer premium extension support to enterprise customers for $$, just like they do with all their older Windows versions. They can than charge each enterprise, business, and consumer user a monthly or annual subscription which can be ran from almost any device and even if only 20-30% of you come for the ride, they'll be making more revenue by a mile and less cost to maintain, they won't even have to worry about all these custom drivers anymore. Of course, they will claim this will cost everyone less. LOL Now instead of them charging you a one time fee of $50-150, they can charge you for the whole machine and the OS say for $10-40 a month(depending on your virtual hardware requirements) or by the hour usage.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-desktop/

So, in the end it doesn't matter (their perspective) if you buy from Steam (although they would rather you bought from the MS Store) as in the end, you are still buying digital on Windows, eventually they can process said game/software from the cloud. There is a possibility they try the UWP/MS Store only route one more time i.e. Windows RT, Window S, Windows S mode,etc. https://mspoweruser.com/report-the-writing-is-on-the-wall-for-andromeda-and-polaris/
 
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CaptainABAB

Member
Just to clarify, this is dropping UWP as a target for the Xamarin.Forms mobile cross-platform projects.

This isn't remotely close to dropping UWP completely. This is basically dropping Windows Phone more than anything else.

Plus, xamarin.forms were never used to build games. More like business apps.
 

LordRaptor

Member
I've been in numerous arguments about UWA on this forum saying that the business case for UWA made no sense after the concession that their mobile aspirations were dead and their - lets be generous and say underperformance with the Xbox One.

But MS are like a dinosaur, and it takes awhile for the signal from the tail to reach the brain.
 

Shifty

Member
You must be pretty young. We've been duped long before 2012 lol
Not really, just omitting a couple of decades for the sake of brevity.
Though I suppose young is relative if you're talking in Great Old One terms :messenger_winking:

xuf011229.gif
 

Caayn

Member
Just to clarify, this is dropping UWP as a target for the Xamarin.Forms mobile cross-platform projects.

This isn't remotely close to dropping UWP completely. This is basically dropping Windows Phone more than anything else.

Plus, xamarin.forms were never used to build games. More like business apps.
This is my interpretation as well. And matches the no longer supported W10 mobile platform.
"VS2019 preview release notes said:
UWP:
Deployment to Windows Mobile devices is no longer supported in Visual Studio 2019. Attempts to deploy to a Windows 10 Mobile device will result in an error saying "Deployment to Windows Mobile devices is not supported in Visual Studio 2019". If you need to continue working on an application for Windows 10 Mobile devices, continue to use Visual Studio 2017.

In my preview version of VS2019 I can still create and work with UWP projects with C#, VB and C++, support for JavaScript in new UWP projects seems to have been dropped.
 
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