About a month ago, Epic Games Co-Founder and guru Tim Sweeney launched a rallying cry against Microsoft from the pages of The Guardian. Sweeney claimed that Microsoft's actions indicated an attempt to establish a monopoly via the Universal Windows Platform, even though he later conceded that there was no proof of an evil plan.
Microsoft, on the other hand, maintained that the UWP would be open and promised more information during Build. After the keynote, Head of Xbox Division Phil Spencer confirmed that they would allow UWP applications to be distributed across any store and not just Windows Store.
However, it looks like Sweeney still isn't satisfied. According to him, at Build Microsoft showed some cool new open features of the Universal Windows Platform and talked about the plan of being open without actually committing to it; he then added that he doesn't trust the company to keep UWP open without a clear commitment.
@ThomasNigro @andrewclinick At Build, Microsoft showed cool new open features of UWP and stated their plan, but not a commitment.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) March 31, 2016
@THEBIGBEN2016 @exel_v2 @XboxP3 I trust Phil Spencer. I don't trust Microsoft Corp to keep UWP open when they haven't committed to that.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 2, 2016
When I asked him specifically what he was looking for, he stated that without a commitment there was always the risk that they would change the rules with a forced Windows update.
@AlexiousRahl @XboxP3 That was a forward-looking statement about a plan. Seeking a clear lasting commitment on specific technical points.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 2, 2016
@AlexiousRahl @XboxP3 See https://t.co/vyv2EDjCCJ for details. A commitment is needed else any Windows forced-update could change the rules.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 2, 2016
Finally, Sweeney said that he was already following up on these points with Microsoft folks.
@RexNovis I'm following up in detail with Microsoft folks. If they won't state a clear and specific commitment, then yes.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 1, 2016
@exel_v2 @XboxP3 Still talking, seeking clarification on whether there's a long-term commitment to specific technical details of openness.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 2, 2016
There's a good chance we'll know soon if his requests will be satisfied, so stay tuned to learn more about this ongoing controversy about Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
