Shack: In the future, will Games for Windows titles be locked into using the Games for Windows service, or could you buy a GFW title and use Steam to play it?

Kevin Unangst: There are no restrictions on either Games for Windows titles or Games for Windows Live titles being distributed on other services. So you'll still be able to have a Games for Windows Live title, that if you want to distribute that on Steam and buy it digitally that way, that's fine. Publishers can put it in any store they want.

Shack: What kind of technology is behind the new Marketplace? Have you adapted Windows Update for use here, or has it been built from the ground up?

Kevin Unangst: This is in-house technology. It is not identical to the Windows Update technology. This is something we built for the service.

Shack: Are you hoping that the Marketplace will serve as an easier way to distribute PC downloadable content, and thus fuel more DLC development on the PC?

Kevin Unangst: Absolutely, absolutely. And I think we see that fueling not just paid content. I mean certainly some developers may see this as an easier opportunity, if they're going to deliver content that they know users will see value in paying for, certainly we'll have a Marketplace and a very easy way for them to do that.

Shack: Can you elaborate on how the interfaces are being changed to be more PC-friendly?

Kevin Unangst: Let me give you a couple examples on the in-game experience: things like control key shortcuts, and accelerators, those kinds of things. Having the windows drop down from the top rather than pop out of the middle as they did on the console, that's one example. We aren't showing the Marketplace design yet, but it will be different than the 360 for good reason, because we're designing it for different audiences. Users should expect to see a Marketplace that is optimized specifically for the PC or the Xbox.

Shack: How is Games for Windows better than any of the other online gaming platforms?

Kevin Unangst: Well there's a couple things. First of all, from a player perspective, we've got the best multiplayer matchmaking system on the planet. Developers, one of the things we heard that they didn't like about the original Games for Windows Live service is that they had to present a list of servers in the game for people to go pick, and you hope you get into a game with somebody that you like, or you have to call your buddy on the phone or instant message him, and alt-tab, and hope that works, right?

For us it's really about building and taking that best-in-class matchmaking system and making it available to everybody. So by removing the need for a Gold subscription on Windows, developers are super excited about building that in. And so that's a big part. I think the fact that we've got a proven Achievement system, not only on Windows, but clearly from what we've learned on the console. I play games that I know will give me Achievements, and we've made it even easier to add Games for Windows Live to their titles so they can award Achievements in the game. They can use the same APIs that they're comfortable with on the console, or if they're not, like Relic with Dawn of War 2, they don't want to have to build an identity system, they don't want to have to build all that matchmaking, we'll just do that for them.

And then having a Marketplace that's going to focus specifically on how to extend the game experience will definitely be a differentiator. And although we're not talking about the library of content that's going to come out, you're going to see a big focus from us there on making sure we have a fantastic selection of things that really extend that game experience.

Shack: Thanks for talking with us, Kevin.