The annual Game Developers Conference is a stage where all sorts of issues are addressed, games announced and much more. At this year’s GDC, the focus was on Windows gaming with new features being announced by Microsoft for their online gaming service Games For Windows Live.
The Anti-piracy solution includes a zero-day piracy protection for games, and a server authentication. Both these features are aimed at averting piracy before games are released and at safeguarding the publishers and consumers as it requires authentication for online play. New in-game marketplaces allow developers to deliver content and other add-ons directly into the game without the need of restarting the gaming session. A Roaming feature now allows PC gamers to save their personal settings so that they can access these settings via any connected Windows PC which is compatible with the games.
“As a publisher, no one is more excited to see the continued growth and evolution of Games for Windows Live than Microsoft Game Studios,” stated Dave Luehmann, general manager of Window games for Microsoft Game Studios. “We have several projects underway which will incorporate the Liveservice, and we’re continuing to build new developer relationships here at GDC to bring the best in the industry to Games for Windows Live.”
“This update and other features currently in development represent a tipping point in the evolution of Games for Windows Live as a leading online PC gaming network,” remarked Ron Pessner, general manager of Games for Windows Live. “In the coming months, we will continue to deliver on our promise to provide gamers and publishers with the industry’s best connected gaming experiences through the Live service.”
Games For Windows Live has grown a lot in the last six months partly due to the introduction of a more PC friendly interface last November and some of the biggest Windows games including Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II.