Major Nelson has gone on record to state that Xbox Live will not be required for online multiplayer on Windows 10.
@haydencd Not charging. Xbox Live Gold will not be required for online multiplayer gaming using our service on Windows 10 PCs and Phones
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) March 5, 2015
This comes shortly after the announcement that Xbox Live would be coming to Windows 10. In fact, the way Phil Spencer pitched it was that gaming on Windows would now be under the Xbox Live brand. This is not quite the same as the rumored ability to stream Xbox One games on Windows, but it is more grounded and practical.
Under Xbox Live, all Windows 10 games will be designed around DirectX12, essentially making it possible to port the same version of the game to Xbox One and all Windows 10 devices, including phones, tablets, and computers. Microsoft is also opening up deals for games to release on Xbox One and Windows 10 devices simultaneously, as well as cross buy, cross platform saving, and online multiplayer between any combination of these devices. It all depends on what the developers want to do with their games.
With this reveal, it’s crystal clear that Microsoft is playing nice, and that means good things for gamers who pick up Windows 10 on whatever device.
Now here’s the thing; we don’t know yet if games like Gears of War, or, say, the upcoming Crackdown, will be coming to Windows 10, particularly, knowing Xbox Live Gold will still be required for the same on Xbox One. Subsequently, we don’t know if the same will be true of these games or if there will be other caveats. If it holds true for AAA games like them, however, Microsoft will definitely have a compelling argument to go all in on Microsoft gaming platforms.
