Gears 5’s PC version abandons UWP – Will be a Win32 App

Microsoft’s experimentation with UWP was a complete disaster, promising to deliver users simplicity while providing nothing but issues. Early UWP games didn’t play well with gaming overlays, FreeSync/G-Sync monitors or multi-GPU setups, making the term UWP toxic amongst many sectors of the PC gaming community. Combine this with the Windows 10 Store’s (now Microsoft Store’s) early issues and it was easy to see why Microsoft wasn’t regarded highly amongst PC gamers. 

With Gears 5, things change. Microsoft’s PC games will no longer be locked behind the Microsoft Store. Gears 5 will be available on Steam. Not only that, but The Coalition’s TC Octus has confirmed that the game will ship as a Win32 application on all PC platforms, taking away the downsides of UWP. Microsoft has listened to the complaints of PC gamers, and in doing so Gears 5 will likely be their best PC release since the introduction of Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program. 

Gears 5 will not be locked behind Microsoft’s Windows 10 Store, though an Xbox Live account will be required to run the game. Xbox Game Pass for PC users will need to utilise the Microsoft Store to run Gears 5.

On Steam, Gears 5 will cost £49.99 and will release on September 10th. Purchasers of the game’s £69.99 Ultimate Edition will receive access to the game four days early and receive the game’s Halo: Reach Character pack and 30 days of “Boost”. Below is Gears 5’s Horde trailer, which was released shortly before Gamescom 2019.