Microsoft responds to Epic’s Tim Sweeney, says Windows 10 is indeed an open platform

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Published onJuly 29, 2016

published onJuly 29, 2016

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Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games, clearlythinks UWP is a closed platform. He has been a vocal critic of Microsoft’s new Universal Windows Platform for quite awhile now, and he fears that Microsoft may monopolize the gaming industry.

As we reported, Sweeney’s position is clear:

The risk here is that, if Microsoft convinces everybody to use UWP (Universal Windows Platform), then they phase out Win32 apps. If they can succeed in doing that then it’s a small leap to forcing all apps and games to be distributed through the Windows Store. Once we reach that point, the PC has become a closed platform. It won’t be that one day they flip a switch that will break your Steam library – what they’re trying to do is a series of sneaky manoeuvres. They make it more and more inconvenient to use the old apps, and, simultaneously, they try to become the only source for the new ones.

AsGameInformerreports, however, Microsoft has responded to Sweeney, stating that the current restrictions of the platform are caused by the early development stage of UWP and that things will improve in the future:

Tim is a respected figure in the gaming world, and we value his feedback… As stated previously, the Universal Windows Platform is a fully open ecosystem that is available to every developer, and can be supported by any store. It’s early, and we recognize there is still work to be done, but we want to make Windows the best development platform regardless of technologies used.

Tim Sweeney believes that Microsoft is purposefully crippling the Win32 experience on Windows 10 and trying to break current games to make sure developers move to UWP. However, Microsoft includes the APPX installer in the coming Anniversary Update, making the installation of UWP apps from outside the store as easy as Win32 EXE files.

We will see what future updates of the Universal Windows Platform will bring us. For now, it seems that Mr. Sweeney is once again tilting at some non-existent windmills.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Microsoft responds to Epic’s Tim Sweeney, says Windows 10 is indeed an open platform