Quantum Break for PC

Quantum Break had an unusual launch for a big budget first party title. Published by Microsoft Studios, it was originally revealed as an Xbox One exclusive and later announced for Windows 10. While the Xbox One version of Quantum Break was technically jaw dropping, the PC version did not fare so well. Constant stuttering, frame rate issues, crashes and a host of other technical problems caused the game and the Windows 10 Store in general to receive a lot of backlash.

With the announcement of Play Anywhere, it seemed like these Microsoft published games would only be available on Xbox One and Windows 10 store, until a few days ago when Quantum Break was officially announced for a Steam release on September 14, 2016 that would be compatible with all Windows versions from 7 onwards.

With this surprise announcement, many are speculating how Microsoft will handle its upcoming line-up of exclusives. While it would better for the PC community, I sincerely doubt they will be releasing Halo or Forza on Steam. This seems nothing more than a sales experiment, in order to gauge the effect of releasing an exclusive game on Steam a few months after launch.
Their bigger properties, like Halo and Gears of War, will take their audience wherever they land. By comparison, Quantum Break was a new IP and the developer’s previous game — Alan Wake, was not exactly a sales juggernaut. While I don’t expect the big franchises and games from Microsoft owned studios to come to Steam, I won’t be surprised if a game like Scalebound was released in order to reach wider audience.