Microsoft announced in a blog post on Thursday, April 29, it was cutting the amount of revenue it would take from games purchased on its Windows storefront.

“As part of our commitment to empower every PC game creator to achieve more, starting on August 1 the developer share of Microsoft Store PC games sales net revenue will increase to 88%, from 70%,” Microsoft said.

The company added, “A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so.”

The move is reminiscent of the Epic Game Store launch announcement in 2018, which had a similar revenue sharing split.

Comparatively, Steam takes a 30% cut of sales on its storefront.

One issue with Microsoft’s push to provide more revenue to developers is its store doesn’t quite take full advantage of Windows’ dominance as a destination for PC gaming. The Microsoft Store for PC games is, at times, an afterthought for many, compared to Steam or the Epic Game Store.

The revenue split consideration is likely an attempt to bring more developers onto the Microsoft Store as it tries to integrate its Xbox console ambitions with its PC gaming know-how.

With a look towards bringing Xbox (and its Game Pass subscriptions setup) to a more dominant role in the PC gaming industry, Microsoft may be making a further bid to turn the Xbox brand into a hybrid brand for both console and PC play. – Rappler.com