Microsoft insists Windows gaming is ‘critical’ despite E3 no-show

E3 wasn’t the right place to discuss Microsoft’s Windows gaming strategy, Microsoft’s games boss Phil Spencer has said.

Spencer has previously promised that a renewed focus on Windows and PC gaming inside Microsoft is definitely happening”, but PC gaming was not mentioned once in Microsoft’s E3 press event last week.

"E3 is a retail show, it’s a console show, so it didn’t really feel like the right place for us to talk about Windows, but Windows and gaming on Windows is critical to Microsoft’s success," he told Polygon.

"For us as Microsoft Xbox is our gaming brand, and it’s the thing we can fill an arena like this, we get millions of people to watch us on TV and we show our games and it’s a brand that people care about.”

Spencer went on to speculate that eSports tournaments could be a better platform for Windows-related announcements, adding: "I think in a lot of ways, you could argue gaming on Windows has never been more healthy.

The biggest of the big franchises, League of Legends, World of Tanks, those things dwarf a lot of what we’re doing in this console space in terms of users and monetization. They’re all on PC."