Unreal Engine creator calls for opposition to Universal Windows Platform

By admin On Mar 4, 2016

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Tim Sweeney, founder of game studio Epic Games, has called for opposition to Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform in an argument on The Guardian. He claims that Microsoft wants to acquire a monopoly on developing games for the PC.

Sweeney is known as the creator of the original Unreal Engine. In an article, he argues that Microsoft’s UWP aims to gain a monopoly on the PC ecosystem by limiting sales and distribution opportunities. The UWP is used to develop applications that are applicable to all supported Microsoft devices, such as the Xbox One. By default, the framework makes it impossible to install and sell programs yourself outside the Windows Store. It is possible via side-loading, but Microsoft can disable this with a forced update.

Any sale of a Universal Windows Application is mandatorily made through the Windows 10 Store and cannot be purchased through other platforms and websites. According to Sweeney, Microsoft may also offer exclusive features for PC games through the UWP in the future. Developers can then choose to use the UWP, and thus the functions, or release a game that lacks these options. Developers often still use win32.

If Microsoft decides to ditch win32 as a platform and focus on the UWP, it could lead to a monopoly for Microsoft in the PC game market, Sweeney predicts. For the time being, the use of the UWP mainly presents limitations, such as not being able to disable vsync and no option for showing games in full screen. There is also a program to convert win32 applications for the UWP.

Kevin Gallo, vice president of Windows, told the Guardian that the UWP is intended to be an open ecosystem, available to any developer and retailer. Sweeney sees the UWP as a closed platform that can gain a monopoly on the PC market if Microsoft continues to favor it. To prevent this, he calls for the conversion of the UWP into an open platform. This would allow each user to decide for themselves where to get their applications. Also, each company must be allowed to operate a store in which UWP games are available. In addition, developers, publishers and companies must be able to trade among themselves without Microsoft getting thirty percent of the amount.

He clarifies that he is not against the idea of the Windows Store. According to him, Microsoft has the right to have its own application store and to manage it as it wishes. His criticism focuses specifically on favoring Microsoft’s own store for developers and publishers as well as customers. Sweeney therefore wants Microsoft to limit the freedom of users less. According to him, the company uses practices such as Google’s with Android, which allows freedom of choice, but only in an obscure way. For example, options for free use would be hidden in option menus.

Sweeney suspects that if Microsoft does not open the UWP for freer use, it will perish from the game industry’s backlash. He states that Epic has been talking to Microsoft about the problem for eighteen months and indicates that people like Phil Spencer have always listened. Actions speak louder than words and Microsoft would have done nothing about the problems, Sweeney said.

Earlier this week, Microsoft released Gears of War: Ultimate Edition for Windows 10. This release was not without its problems; many AMD users are experiencing game performance issues. Microsoft bought the rights to Gears of War from Epic games in 2014.