It begs the question: Could other Microsoft exclusives make the jump to Steam? Xbox head Phil Spencer has hinted at it. "I look at Valve as an important [independent software vendor] for us on Windows. They are a critical part of gaming's success on Windows," he said in June. "I don't think Valve's hurt by not having our first-party games in their store right now. They're doing incredibly well. We will ship games on Steam again."



The trade-off, of course, would be control. Microsoft has a broader mission to drive Xbox One sales and increase Windows 10 adoption. Pushing all of its games through Steam would, effectively, kill one of its biggest incentives -- exclusive software. (Microsoft's "Play Anywhere" scheme could lure them back in, however.) Regular Steam distribution would also give Valve a not-to-be-sniffed-at-cut of its digital sales. Ultimately, however, PC players just want better access to video games. If Halo 5 followed Quantum Break's lead, many would be pretty darn happy.