A post on the Games for Windows Marketplace website today was made announcing that Games for Windows Marketplace will be fully transitioning to Xbox.com:
The announcement is also followed by the Games for Windows newsletter, which states:
Games for Windows® is moving to Xbox.com in July. Get the latest Games for Windows–LIVE exclusives, best-selling PC titles, great casual games, and incredible deals. Our new design on Xbox.com will let you easily find your favorite games, and our updated newsletter design is a sneak preview of things to come.
Just last month during an E3 interview, Mike Delman, Vice President of Global Marketing at Interactive Entertainment Business, revealed that Xbox LIVE is coming to the Windows platform, potentially being the entertainment and gaming service for Windows 8. The announcement to merge Games for Windows with Xbox is possibly the first step in bringing the Xbox LIVE brand across to the PC.
The Games for Windows LIVE brand hasn’t been particularly strong, especially in comparison to Xbox LIVE. Microsoft has already brought Xbox LIVE to the Windows Phone platform, indicating that the "Xbox LIVE" brand is no longer confined to the gaming console, but rather a cross-platform service that spans across the PC, TV, and Mobile screens, realising Microsoft’s "three screens and the cloud" dream. In fact, Microsoft has already announced that Xbox LIVE game saves and profiles will be stored on the cloud towards the end of this year. Now the next question is, when will we finally be seeing true cross-platform multiplayer games coming to Xbox LIVE soon?