Windows 8 launch next year will start "a real new push into PC gaming" say Microsoft

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In a speech in Tokyo, covered by Develop , Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has announced that Windows 8 will be launched for PCs, tablets and smartphones next year, and has been designed with gaming in mind. According to a Techradar source, "Windows 8 will represent a real new push into PC gaming. Gaming will be a key component for the whole OS."

Microsoft appear to have abandoned PC gaming in recent years. Even Sony had a stronger PC line-up than the software giant at last year's E3 . Things have shifted recently, however, with the announcement of a PC version of Fable 3 , a revamped Games for Windows Marketplace , and recent work on the upcoming Age of Empires Online . If Microsoft are serious about returning to PC gaming, E3 2011 could represent quite a turnaround from last year's conference. We'll know for sure in LA in just a few weeks time.

Tom Senior
Tom Senior

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.

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