Since the release of the Xbox Series S/X, Microsoft has made numerous changes and decisions that have stirred up its competition. This includes basically throwing money at studios so that Microsoft can release its games on Xbox Game Pass at launch - more prominent examples include Outriders and MLB The Show 21.
Microsoft has also since doubled down on its efforts to make backwards compatibility an integral part of the Xbox gaming ecosystem. With that said, Microsoft's next move, as detailed in a leaked document, might just end up being the biggest yet.
Microsoft Is Planning to Lower Xbox Games Store Cut
Just to refresh everyone's memories, Microsoft has already cut its revenue share through the Microsoft Store by more than half. Starting on August 1, Microsoft will only take 12% of all PC games sales listed on the Microsoft Store, down from 30%. Moving forward, this effectively allows Microsoft to match Epic Games' revenue share through the Epic Games Store. More importantly, Microsoft's decision will allow it to undercut Valve's digital games distribution platform, Steam, which continues to dominate digital PC game sales charts.
Now, according to additional information found on leaked confidential documents, it seems that Microsoft has also explored doing the same thing to the Xbox Games Store. The said document, which was filed as part of the ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, revealed that Microsoft has considered changing up its fees for digital games on the Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X consoles.