Tim Sweeney at Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 event in 2019.
Microsoft has since walked much of this back, and the company’s more open model for HoloLens saw Sweeney share the stage with the software maker and pledge Epic Games’ support for Microsoft’s mixed reality headsets. Sweeney famously lashed out at Microsoft’s efforts to control the Windows software ecosystem with its store and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) initiative. If either effort is successful, it would directly benefit Microsoft’s software business, as well as its ambitions for cloud gaming.Įpic founder Tim Sweeney has a long history with Microsoft, and it’s only recently that their interests have aligned. Microsoft’s announcement comes just days before a huge court trial between Epic Games and Apple, and just as the EU has found issues with Apple’s rules - claiming the company has a “dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store.” Microsoft has been quietly backing Epic Games’ action against Apple, and not-so-quietly calling for regulators to investigate the App Store. But the cut is also a tactical move: Microsoft wants to help pressure Apple, and this week’s changes could play a role in the bigger app store battles kicking off next week. On the surface, it’s a welcome move, with Microsoft matching the 12 percent cut that Epic Games takes, and putting more pressure on Valve, which still takes a 30 percent cut on most Steam purchases. Microsoft shook up the PC gaming industry this week with the announcement that it was cutting the fee it takes from game sales on the Windows store.