Would Microsoft Be Better Off To Remove Gaming From Their OS

[TheTrippyHippie]

I think Windows OS would be better If they removed gaming from their OS and sold a Gamer's version based around their gaming ecosystem Xbox maybe?

Reserve Windows OS for Productivity, power users, business or people who require the services a Windows desktop computer has to offer.

This would make more sense than building an OS that's trying to be everything and most likely more productive with less issues and more secure.

If they done something similar to SteamOS3 for gamer's and kept gaming away from their windows desktop OS it would most likely have less issues.

You would have 1 OS that's dedicated to gaming with only the software installed that's needed to be a gaming PC, with a desktop that can do the basics, like bench marking, email web browsing, personalising layout etc

I think something along those lines would be better for gamer's and windows OS

You would then have an OS that's dedicated to an desktop environment but not used for gaming which is most likely more secure, better suited to business, power users or users that need the features windows OS has to offer.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

This is why Microsoft is currently developing a next gen Xbox that, if done properly, they want it to be able to also have ability to run PC games off of GoG, Epic, Steam; etc. and not be limited to the Microsoft Store Apps/Games.

[nullable]

I think I see the problem. Instead of having an idea of ruining windows for existing user, you want a stripped down gaming only Windows no one will use because a PC losing most of its utility isn't going to be very popular despite all of the tooth gnashing over ad nauseum Windows hate.

[TheTrippyHippie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez r.linder:

Początkowo opublikowane przez TheTrippyHippie:

Man you guys put up some good reading, lets hope as time passes these issue can and will be resolved over time.

Like i say the landscape is changing when it comes to gaming and choice of device and OS the devices run.

I believe Microsoft can see this and has already taken the steps it needed to mitigate any risk to them long term

But I don't believe Microsoft is that concerned about losing market share to Linux in the near future.

I sort of see this as the next step/stage for Linux to gain/expand on the user base but not total domination over Microsoft anytime soon.

SteamOS is a big step, however there's still many more steps to make, and Microsoft won't take it lying down either. They tried to stop Linux decades ago and failed.

As long as they are steps forward then that is progress It's still early days and plenty of time years even for things to only improve.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Well I feel like the overall focus has been lost from all these major companies. It's 2025. This all should have been done 20 years ago. X86 computing will not survive much longer.

[☄️⁧⁧Sneakydude555]

Początkowo opublikowane przez TheTrippyHippie:

Początkowo opublikowane przez nullable:

PC's are general purpose machines, trying to cripple that isn't going to work ad well as uou imagine.

Dual booting would be an annoyance. Two machines would be expensive and annoying.

And besides directX and GPU's can be used in productivity tasks too, so you're talking arbitrary separation of tasks where the lines are blurred because of PC's general purpose nature. So what problem does your idea solve?

It solves Microsoft force feeding the users with stuff they don't want or will ever use.
it solves an issues loads of people have with windows 11

all of what you mentioned could be left in the desktop version or even keep the current version as it is, offer a trimmed down version for Gamer's that's more suited and polished for Users that don't need that full on Windows 11 experience

They would be related but the gamers version wouldn't need the bloat windows 11 has built in it would be a stripped down version (like what they did with the Xbox code back in the day) and more refined for gaming while feeling a lot less busy and not trying to be everything imho.

I use powershell scripts to remove telemetry and remove bloat on my PC and my little brothers whether Windows 10 and 11.I also use open shell for OG Windows start menu. PC's always had their purpose for everything. You develop code on Windows to make Video games.

Most Windows "Gaming" versions are trash that ive seen on YouTube at least. All it takes is to Optimize Virtual the memory by not letting Windows "Manage" it for you, disabling Useless Windows services and bloatware/telemetry through Powershell scripts, and using a PS script to only tell Windows to only use security updates.

What i stated here is not only just for gaming, but its to make the PC experience better overall for productivity and such.

My School Computers ran Windows 10 like 🐕 compared to Windows 7. I guarantee you if i got my grubby nerdy hands on them, i would optimize Windows 10 and 11 Entirely to work on those systems.

[Princess Luna]

How does one remove gaming from Windows

[TheTrippyHippie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez TheTrippyHippie:

Początkowo opublikowane przez r.linder:

SteamOS is a big step, however there's still many more steps to make, and Microsoft won't take it lying down either. They tried to stop Linux decades ago and failed.

As long as they are steps forward then that is progress It's still early days and plenty of time years even for things to only improve.

The only time I could see Microsoft becoming more aggressive is if they started to lose massive market share to Linux but I think we can all agree that is not going to happen anytime soon

Microsoft can make extra money embracing and supporting other OS's to run their games, I believe it's the cloud based services they would start becoming aggressive over in market share loses but I don't know enough really to pass a credible comment on the subject.

I can only offer an opinion based on what little I know.

[TheTrippyHippie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Princess Luna:

How does one remove gaming from Windows

Try reading from the start so you can catch up I'm not going to keep repeating myself to someone who has little to nothing to add to the subject.

[☄️⁧⁧Sneakydude555]

I also forgot to mention I used a PS script to erase memory cache that you see in task manager.

[tyl0413]

Początkowo opublikowane przez r.linder:

Początkowo opublikowane przez tyl0413:

Linux desktop has been ready for the casual PC users for years, the type that never use anything other than browser and some web based software, basic word processor, etc. I was doing that perfectly on Ubuntu 10 before I knew anything about linux just didnt wanna pay for extra windows licenses, never once had to open the terminal (because that for some reason is a benchmark for user friendliness even tho theres quite a few things on Windows that can only by accessed by terminal but we can't talk about that)
Gaming is the big remaning roadblock for many personal PCs, thats what hopefully Valve will solve. I have a Steam Deck and I don't see what issues it has infact im continuously impressed by just how well it works no matter what i throw at it, sure I dislike that its immutable and flatpak and whatever but overall its a really stable functional working system thats beginner friendly, tons of people with 0 linux or even PC experience bought Steam Decks and love it, tons of enthusiasts have too and they aren't being held back by it either.
I can not think of anything wrong with SteamOS that would matter for most of the casual crowd. Steam used to have installed software in the hwstats, they should add it back, maybe half of Steam users are really using Adobe and other professional software a lot and I just don't know, most people I see just use google docs and spotify and whatever, all things that have always ran on linux.
I don't get why theres so much seeming pushback against SteamOS in the linux community, I guess if you don't want it to get more popular that I can understand fully, but those that claim they want that but then continue going into every SteamOS discussion to spam "SteamOS is nothing new!!" I don't get.
SteamOS is gonna make those switch who are tired of Windows becoming worse with every update for the past decade but want some kind of guarantee that they're not gonna waste their time running into a ton of issues, the people who can deal with some issues have already switched in most cases.
Obviously the numbers arent gonna be huge to start, but the trend if obvious, Windows has been bleeding marketshare for over a decade, enough people are fed up and looking for ways out, for many of the most casual users smartphones were that or Chromebooks, for others Mac, and the time for Linux getting mainstream adoption is in the somewhat near future.
If Microsoft jut continues going down the path they have chosen Windows will go down its just a matter of time, I don't think there are many people who actually like Windows anymore, everyone just tolerates it until theres something better, Macs, consoles, smartphones, Steams Decks and whatever are cool, people like and are excited for those devices/system, nobody is excited for anything about Windows anymore, its the past, maybe the present but definitely not the future unless they radically change their approach which I don't see them doing.
Windows already is only really necessary now for specialty hardware and software which most people dont use, and its only a matter of time until market share increases that more of those specialty vendors will find it worthwhile to support Linux (or OS X, more already support it compared to a decade ago exactly since it rapidly increased in market share since then compared to Windows which is only declining).

1. People want the software they're used to, which is very often Microsoft's Office software options, Adobe software, etc. and there's a lot of professional software that doesn't work on Linux either, there's alternatives, but they aren't as good, period. There's no good alternatives to the ocean of RGB software that doesn't work on Linux, whatever the few alternatives like OpenRGB supports is it, and Razer is the only peripheral brand that has very good support on Linux through OpenRazer but there's still a lot of their products that don't work properly there.
There's also little motivation or reason for casual users to switch to Linux in the first place, the only people who actually care are technically inclined and already understand why Windows sucks.

2. A casual user will never actually have to use the terminal themselves, and there are plenty of people who can do it for you, that isn't the case for Linux as less than 6% of the world use it, good luck.

3. SteamOS won't solve the roadblocks with gaming, they already did most of the work with CodeWeavers when they made Proton, the rest of the issues comes down mostly to anti-cheat as that's the majority of the remaining games that don't work on Linux. Valve has zero control over that and developers will only change their tune if a very insignificant portion of the world switches to Linux, and SteamOS isn't going to be enough to make that happen. The anti-cheat problem has to be dealt with first to get a lot of gamers to switch because they won't drop their games and most users aren't going to want to dual boot or have to restart to jump between operating systems just to use different software.

4. Immutable distros lack flexibility that some users want, it's not perfect for everyone, and we also don't know how SteamOS is going to change for the desktop version.

5. What makes SteamOS different is the Steam Deck and handheld platform, when you port it to desktop, it's literally just a custom version of Arch with software that's also available on other distros. It's not special, it's not going to make everyone magically switch to Linux. You're getting yourself and other people's hopes up for something that isn't going to happen. Anyone with the knowledge can make it themselves and it's basically already been done with Bazzite.

Some people will switch, but only if it ticks all of their boxes, and for most people, it's not. Linux is still lacking in support for too many things and SteamOS won't change that overnight, it's going to take quite a few years of hard work to get anywhere.

6. Microsoft could just as easily listen to what users want and then people would start changing their minds. That's literally all it boils down to.

1. Office and Adobe is mostly a business thing, I don't think most people use it, some do but I don't think its as big of an issue as many make it out to be, especially nowdays Office is nowhere near as big of a thing as it once used to be, I see way more people using Google Docs or various online notes apps. Office and Adobe are also available on Mac, the base M4 Mini in one of the best values in computing right now, can Microsoft afford to continue downgrading Windows forever without pushing more people away where many better cheaper alternatives exist?
Sure I'd like a good Logitech config software but its like on the bottom of my linux wishlist compared to more important issues, it'll happen as marketshare increases, obviously i'm not a casual but I was already using many FOSS software on Windows for years, many proprietary software have become worse and push people away just like Windows. Adobe with their AI, others with their expensive subscriptions, more people are getting tired with the business practices of Microsoft and many once extremely entrenched Windows software, they're slowly switching to likes of DaVinci Resolve which is more stable on Linux actually.
2. The terminal is a way overblown non-issue
3. Proton took Linux gaming from not being a thing to working nearly perfectly within reason today, theres almost nothing I throw at the Steam Deck no matter how niche, non-Steam, etc that doesn't work with great performance. On PC too many games run well, what doesn't is very likely to be an nVidia/distro/whatever issue. Its definitely way better than it has any right to be, point is Linux is constantly improving meanwhile Windows is constantly getting worse.
Valve could tell these publishers to cut their ♥♥♥♥ any time, as much as they hate Valve they should be thankful Steam is owned by them because no other company would tolerate them, probably why nobody wanted the Windows Store to succeed bc MS would've absolutely micromanaged developers, forced them to not do things like AC or whatever they don't like, just like Apple has a long list of arbitrary restrictions that makes Mac App Store versions inferior, while Steam versions of games are nearly always superior.
Valve probably already asked them nicely, and if that doesn't work if they feel it necessary they could absolutely try various other methods of getting more Deck support from the low percentage of stubborn developers. Microsoft wouldn't entertain a developer on their platform who insisted on a physical only release today when their goal is all digital only streaming crap, neither should Valve entertain publishers who are holding them back, and you'll say they're gonna leave, well thats the fun part, they already tried and failed abysmally, COD is a great example, one of the biggest games which admitted to significantly lowered PC sales while not on Steam.
4. 100% I hope they'll either allow it to be disabled without affecting updates and that other distros just rip off enough of the good work Valve is doing that there will really be little difference between them, SteamOS is still important for getting new and less savvy started.
5. I was mislead for years that linux gaming is extremely good way before the Steam Deck, the Deck now is actually as perfect as it can be hence why its selling way better than its clones, handhelds just better show off all the bad parts of Windows and the Deck actually shown people there is a better way, now they just need to bring that experience to PC, a company like Valve has a higher chance of being able to directly get stuff sorted out with the likes of nvidia compared to random distro maintainers to make it happen, Valve has a reputation to uphold, people are still crying about the Steam Machine a decade later, they have a much higher incentive to make things works as well as possible compared to random hobbyists.
6. Obviously that could happen, and I wouldn't even consider that a loss, but I see MS as an extremely stubborn company so the chances of Windows getting good again I'd say are really low.

Obviously its not an overnight thing but the SteamOS PC release is just going to be another nail in Windows coffin just like the Deck already was, Apple M processor already was, Windows itself with the constant downgrades already was, no wonder Microsoft has branched out a lot since Windows' peak, I would absolutely no invest in a company with a failing flagship product, neither would MS which is why they're just looking to milk a quick few extra bucks out of Windows and Xbox before they go bust, all their effort now goes into Azure, AI, actual money makers.

[TheTrippyHippie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez nullable:

I think I see the problem. Instead of having an idea of ruining windows for existing user, you want a stripped down gaming only Windows no one will use because a PC losing most of its utility isn't going to be very popular despite all of the tooth gnashing over ad nauseum Windows hate.

I don't hate windows ? I just got fed up with windows 11 sometimes enough really is enough for some people.

I resolved my issue of being fed up with windows 11 by changing to a Linux based OS for gaming

So I don't hate or get fed up with windows 11.

[tyl0413]

Początkowo opublikowane przez nullable:

I think I see the problem. Instead of having an idea of ruining windows for existing user, you want a stripped down gaming only Windows no one will use because a PC losing most of its utility isn't going to be very popular despite all of the tooth gnashing over ad nauseum Windows hate.

A gaming only Windows is Xbox, nobody wants that on PC, ofc people want to run custom software and do other things and whatnot.
When people say they want a basic gaming focused Windows they literally mean what i'm saying, they want Windows 7 back, where you don't even know you're running Windows, the start button and the login screen is the only time you even see the branding, they don't want the spyware, the advertising, the forced updates, the AI, the candy crush and tiktok installing in the background without your consent, the Office 365 upsells, the Microsoft Teams in the taskbar, the ads on the lock screen, the default browser being constantly changed back to Edge and Bing, the Microsoft Store upsells, Microsoft account, they want Windows as in Windows 7 not Microsoft Live Service Advertising Platform Backend.
They maybe can't explain it in detail but they feel something is wrong and thats why Windows has been bleeding marketshare for over a decade straight even if most people can't explain why they switch to Mac or console or phones or whatever.

[TheTrippyHippie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez tyl0413:

Początkowo opublikowane przez nullable:

I think I see the problem. Instead of having an idea of ruining windows for existing user, you want a stripped down gaming only Windows no one will use because a PC losing most of its utility isn't going to be very popular despite all of the tooth gnashing over ad nauseum Windows hate.

A gaming only Windows is Xbox, nobody wants that on PC, ofc people want to run custom software and do other things and whatnot.
When people say they want a basic gaming focused Windows they literally mean what i'm saying, they want Windows 7 back, where you don't even know you're running Windows, the start button and the login screen is the only time you even see the branding, they don't want the spyware, the advertising, the forced updates, the AI, the candy crush and tiktok installing in the background without your consent, the Office 365 upsells, the Microsoft Teams in the taskbar, the ads on the lock screen, the default browser being constantly changed back to Edge and Bing, the Microsoft Store upsells, Microsoft account, they want Windows as in Windows 7 not Microsoft Live Service Advertising Platform Backend.
They maybe can't explain it in detail but they feel something is wrong and thats why Windows has been bleeding marketshare for over a decade straight even if most people can't explain why they switch to Mac or console or phones or whatever.

Spot on to why I got fed up of windows 11 and resolved all those issue by moving to a Linux based OS and that OS offers everything I personally need from the OS to play games, web browse email etc.

Windows 11 is far to intrusive It feels like with windows 11 Microsoft have also removed the personal out of Personal Computer.

That's why I call a windows 10/11 based OS a Microsoft computer and not PC because that's what windows 10 and 11 OS felt like to me when i used to use them.

My PC feels like a PC after I moved to Linux and it is a great feeling knowing I have a choice now.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

^ All is well, until I start wanting to run games that I can't on Linux; then it's like Oh right, F this mess, back to WinOS anyways.

None of what you and other say about WinOS is true because all of that can be removed, turned off and tweaked. So it's nothing new then how WinXP, Vista and 7 were in the end once I tweak the OS.

[tyl0413]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Bad 💀 Motha:

^ All is well, until I start wanting to run games that I can't on Linux; then it's like Oh right, F this mess, back to WinOS anyways.

None of what you and other say about WinOS is true because all of that can be removed, turned off and tweaked. So it's nothing new then how WinXP, Vista and 7 were in the end once I tweak the OS.

Updates break customization tools, probably intentionally, with 11 they went full mask off adding their names to blacklists to stop them from running that you can bypass by renaming the exes lol.
Thats no personal computer where you have a black box blacklist of software you're not allowed to run. Yes you can try and find whatever workarounds you want until they crack down on all of them, people are tired of that, in many cases its more work and less worthwhile to fix Windows now than get whatever working on linux, the "just works out of the box" went out the window on Windows long ago, having to spend time configuring is no longer a downside to linux, you can choose to get stuff working or actively fight a system that works against, you thats your only choices now, one feels less worthwhile than the other.