Games for Windows – Live or GFWL is a deprecated online gaming service used by '' Games for Windows''–branded PC titles that originally enabled

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

PCs to connect to Microsoft's

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

service. Users, each with a unique Gamertag (the Microsoft username service for gaming that began on

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...

), were able to play online, keep track of their friends' status, send and receive messages, gain and keep track of Achievements and associated Gamerscore, voice chat across platforms (removed in 2010), and more. Some games allowed for cross-platform play, such as ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime fiction, crime, wit ...

'', putting Windows players against

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

players. The successor to Games for Windows – Live is the

Xbox network The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the original ...

, which allows players on a PC to use online functionality and play various

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

games without having a console.

History

Development

On March 14, 2007, Microsoft announced Games for Windows – Live through a press release on their website. The service intended to connect Games for Windows with existing

features, including gamertags, achievements, and friend lists. GFWL would also provide new features, including

cross-platform play In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of Gamer, players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. ...

between

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...

and

players. It was set to release on May 8, 2007, alongside its first game, Halo 2 for Windows Vista. The first game to utilize GFWL

, ''

'', was set to release in June 2007. On May 29, 2007, Games for Windows – Live officially released, alongside its first title, ''Shadowrun.'' Halo 2 for Windows Vista, which was intended to be the first GFWL game, was released on June 8, 2007 after significant delays. The game supports all the standard Live features (such as achievements, voice chat, messages, etc.), but does not offer cross-platform play with

players. Initially, Games for Windows – Live launched with its multiplayer features locked behind an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription, priced at $49.95. In 2008, Microsoft removed the paid tier from GFWL, making all Xbox Live multiplayer services free on PC. The service was open to third-party developers, but they had to meet certain Technical Certification Requirements (TCRs), which included (but were not limited to): game ratings, total number of Gamerscore points, content, game profiles, and Live connectivity. Games for Windows – Live games also had to meet standard Games for Windows (games that do not have Live support) TCRs. The same developer support infrastructure as the

was also available. Assistance to developers was provided through the

Microsoft XNA Microsoft XNA (a recursive acronym for XNA's not acronymed) is a freeware set of tools with a Managed code, managed Runtime system, runtime environment that Microsoft Gaming developed to facilitate video game game development, development. XNA is ...

Developer Connection.

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

, Eidos, and THQ signed on to include Games for Windows – Live in their upcoming games.

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

also included this service in their

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" u ...

Unreal Engine 3 Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) is the third version of Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games. Unreal Engine 3 was one of the first game engines to support multithreading. It used DirectX 9 as its baseline graphics API, simplifying its rendering code. The ...

. '' Universe at War: Earth Assault'' from Sega and ''Lost Planet: Colonies Edition'' from Capcom include cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and Windows over Live. On July 22, 2008, Microsoft's Chris Satchell, CTO of the company's Entertainment devices division, announced that Games For Windows – Live would be free to developers. Previously, select publishers and developers used the system and had to pay for it. Additionally, all Games For Windows – Live features became free for gamers, such as matchmaking and cross-platform play. Satchell added that the move was a "way to improve Windows gaming". Microsoft reduced the technical requirements for developers looking to utilize Live such as removing playlist servers, and allowing studios to use the Microsoft matchmaking servers instead. The new Marketplace was made available for Games for Windows – Live on December 5, 2008. Microsoft also released the newly designed User Interface, on November 12, 2008. On January 7, 2010, it was announced at CES that the upcoming Xbox Game Room would be made available on both the

and Games for Windows Live services. However, games purchased with 240 Microsoft Points will only be playable on one of the platforms; either Xbox 360 or PC. A dual-platform license will cost 400 Microsoft Points. As the Game Room was available to Gold and Silver Xbox members, the service was free to use on Games for Windows Live. Arcade games will feature achievements and online leaderboards. Microsoft revealed on May 21, 2010, that ''

Fable III ''Fable III'' is a 2010 action role-playing video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the ''Fable'' series, the story focuses on the player charact ...

'' would be released on

as well as the

, and would feature Games for Windows – Live. The downloadable version will be a Games on Demand exclusive. On August 17, 2010, Microsoft unveiled two new games at

Gamescom Gamescom (stylized as ''gamescom'') is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gamescom is the world's largest gaming event, with 370,000 visitors and 1,037 exhibitors from 56 ...

2010 that used Games for Windows – LIVE, '' Age of Empires Online'' and '' Microsoft Flight''. ''Age of Empires'' was be free-to-play through LIVE. On September 24, 2010,

Microsoft Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

' general manager Dave Luehmann said in an interview the studio's renewed focus will start with three big titles—''Fable III'', ''Age of Empires Online'' and ''Microsoft Flight''—which will use Games for Windows – LIVE. Luehmann reassured PC gamers that more big titles were on the way, however the studio plans to test new ideas. On September 13, 2011, Major Nelson confirmed what

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

is bringing

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via Microsoft ...

, being called Xbox Live on Windows.

Deprecation

On March 26, 2012,

Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

announced the arrival of '' Age of Empires Online'' on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

. ''Age of Empires Online'' was released on Steam on March 27, 2012. On April 3, 2012, '' Microsoft Flight'' was released on Steam. Microsoft Studios release '' Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet'' on April 17, 2012, and ''

Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...

'' on April 27, 2012, in Games for Windows – LIVE. On April 17, 2012, Microsoft said that they continued to support the Games for Windows platform, to the rumors of the discontinuation of Games for Windows – LIVE in favor of Xbox Live on Windows. On April 13, 2012, Microsoft Studios release ''

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

'', and is the first Microsoft Studios title available only on Steam. On August 31, 2012, '' Gotham City Impostors'' became

free-to-play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...

and dropped Games for Windows – LIVE in favor of Steamworks. On October 10, 2012, the Steam version of ''Toy Soldiers'' was updated to fully use Steamworks, although it still gives the option to use the original service. On October 16, 2012, '' Mark of the Ninja'' was the first title of Microsoft Studios to use Steamworks exclusively, instead of GfWL. On October 25, 2012, '' Deadlight'' became the second title of Microsoft Studios to use Steamworks exclusively. On November 28, 2012, '' Ace Combat: Assault Horizon'' became the first (and only) retail Games for Windows – LIVE title announced for 2013. On January 31, 2013, Microsoft Studios said that they "have nothing to share on the future of Games for Windows Live". On March 7, 2013, Microsoft Studios announced '' Age of Empires II: HD Edition + The Conquerors'' would be released exclusively on

. On April 3, 2013, '' Ms. Splosion Man'' was released by Microsoft Studios on both platforms. On August 9, 2013, Microsoft announced the removal of one of the most criticized limitations for the LIVE platform, the inability of simultaneously

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksAge of Empires Online'' announced that the Games for Windows – Live service would be discontinued on July 1, 2014. Microsoft issued a statement in June 2014 denying they were closing Games for Windows Live, stating "We remain committed to investing in PC gaming in the years ahead, and look forward to sharing more in the future". After the initial August 2013 support article, some game publishers announced that they would be removing GFWL from their games, but in most cases this did not happen until several years later or at all. Games for Windows – Live has since been practically replaced with the

Microsoft Store The Microsoft Store (formerly known as the Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It was created as an app store for Windows 8 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps. With ...

for compatible Windows devices. In 2020, Microsoft removed the Games for Windows – Live client download page and the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant was removed from their servers, and therefore the Games for Windows – Live installer fails to install. From 2022, users are unable to login to Games for Windows – Live through the Games for Windows Marketplace client. The in-game overlay, however, still works fully on all games already owned either digitally or retail, with long login times ranging from 1-5 minutes.

Features

Some features of the service include the following: * Achievements earned during gameplay * Gamerscores amounting the total of a user's achievement points * Reputation voted by other users preferring or avoiding the user. Rep defaults to five stars over time after the user has been preferred by at least one other user *

Friends list A contact list is a collection of screen names. It is a commonplace feature of instant messaging, Email clients, online games and mobile phones. It has various trademarked and proprietary names in different contexts. Contacts lists' windows ...

displaying the user's chosen friends of up to 100 * Recent players list displaying the last 50 players the user has met * Complaint system allowing users to file reports of other users that have broken Live Terms of Use * Games for Windows Marketplace offered Games on Demand,

downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

, music and movies until its closure in 2013 * Public and private chat via

Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

and

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory) In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothi ...

. The voice feature worked between Xbox 360 and Windows until 2010, when Microsoft updated the voice codec for Xbox Live. Games, such as ''Shadowrun'', now only support the text portion of this feature * Multiplayer gameplay via Games for Windows – Live * Matchmaking depending on the user's cumulative gamerscore, rep, location, language and gamer zone * Family settings controlling younger users' exposure to other users *

Game Room Game Room was a video game compilation developed by Krome Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room let players download classic video games and co ...

virtual arcade space offering a library of classic retro games *

Cross-platform Within computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several Computing platform, computing platforms. Some ...

gameplay with

Gamertag

A Gamertag is the universal name for a player's username on Games for Windows – Live, as well as

Zune Zune was a brand of digital media products and services that was marketed by Microsoft from November 2006 until it was discontinued in June 2012. Zune consisted of a line of portable media players, a music subscription service known as Zune Music ...

, and XNA Creators Club. A Gamertag used online must be unique and can be up to 15 characters in length, including numbers, letters, and spaces. A player's Gamertag account status can be checked using a variety of online tools, which is useful especially when looking for a new Gamertag, or confirming that a Gamertag exists. Using a valid Gamertag, any player can be located and messaged from within Live. There are also several websites which allow users of Gamertags to upload photos and information about themselves.

Gamerscore

The Gamerscore (G) is an achievements system that measures the number of achievement points accumulated by a user with a Live profile. These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...

or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in online matches. All regular disc-based games must have 1,000 Gamerscore points in the base game; the title can ship with fewer than 1,000 points, but anything added later must be free. Game developers also have the option of adding up to 250 points via downloadable content every three months after the first year of release (for a total of 1,750 points). On May 26, 2007, ''

Halo 2 ''Halo 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox console. ''Halo 2'' is the second installment in the ''Halo'' franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclai ...

'' was the first Games for Windows – Live title to feature Achievements, which counted towards a player's Gamerscore.

Gamercard

The Gamercard is an information panel used to summarize a user's Live profile. The pieces of information on a Gamercard include: the user's Gamertag (in front a silver or gold bar), reputation, Gamerscore, Gamer Zone and recently played games.

TrueSkill

TrueSkill is a ranking and matchmaking system premiering in the Live services. Developed at

Microsoft Research Microsoft Research (MSR) is the research subsidiary of Microsoft. It was created in 1991 by Richard Rashid, Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold with the intent to advance state-of-the-art computing and solve difficult world problems through technologi ...

Cambridge (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

), the TrueSkill

ranking system A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...

is now used in many titles for Games for Windows – Live. It uses a

mathematical model A mathematical model is an abstract and concrete, abstract description of a concrete system using mathematics, mathematical concepts and language of mathematics, language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed ''mathematical m ...

of uncertainty to address weaknesses in existing ranking systems such as Elo. For example, a new player joining million-player leagues can be ranked correctly in fewer than 20 games. It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different abilities. When matchmaking, the system attempts to match individuals based on their estimated skill level. If two individuals are competing head-to-head and have the same estimated skill level with low estimate uncertainty, they should each have roughly a 50% chance of winning a match. In this way, the system attempts to make every match as competitive as possible. In order to prevent abuse of the system, the majority of ranked games have relatively limited options for matchmaking. By design, players cannot easily play with their friends in ranked games. However, these countermeasures have failed due to techniques such as alternate account(s) and system flaws where each system has its own individual trueskill rating. To provide less competitive games, the system supports unranked ''Player Matches'', which allow individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including "guests" on an account). Such matches do not contribute to the TrueSkill rating.

In-game client

The current version of the in-game Live client is version 3.5.0088.0, released on May 6, 2011. It is available for

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, ...

, Windows 8.1 and

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

s. Version 3.0 added extended information about progress and some bugfixes. The client also auto-updates when users are logged-on to a Live-aware game. The user interface or "Guide" was changed from earlier versions (made to match the Xbox 360's original appearance) to a new appearance. The guide includes messaging (text and voice), friends list, recent players, private chat, and personal settings.

Digital distribution

Marketplace

The Games for Windows Marketplace client was officially released on December 4, 2009. It initially launched with demos and trailers of games available on the Live service. Full titles were later added in the form of Games on Demand. With version 3.0 of the Games for Windows – Live service, an in-game marketplace was included; in addition to new account management tools, such as the ability to change a Gamertag for 800 Microsoft Points. The in-game marketplace enables users to purchase DLC without exiting, as it installs the content directly from within the game.

Games on Demand

On December 15, 2009, Microsoft launched Games on Demand, a

digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of information or materials through digital platforms. The distribution of digital ...

service offering titles such as ''

Resident Evil 5 ''Resident Evil 5'' is a 2009 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in March 2009 and for Window ...

'' and '' Battlestations: Pacific''. Also available were arcade games such as a free version of '' Microsoft Tinker'', a former exclusive to

Ultimate, as well as '' World of Goo'' and '' Osmos''. Some titles bought on Games on Demand include Server Side Authentication. This is a Games for Windows – Live 3.0 feature that automatically ties the game to a

Windows Live ID A Microsoft account or MSA (previously known as Microsoft Passport, .NET Passport, and Windows Live ID) is a single sign-on personal user account for Microsoft customers to log in to consumer Microsoft services (like Outlook.com), devices ru ...

and the Gamertag associated to it. These games have no activation limits and can be re-installed multiple times. The majority of the other titles on the service use a SecuROM

DRM DRM may refer to: Government, military and politics * Defense reform movement, U.S. campaign inspired by Col. John Boyd * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, a former socialist state (1975–1992) on Madagascar * Direction du renseignement militair ...

that lets the user activate the game up to five times each month on any hardware. On June 8, 2010, some games which were previously not Games for Windows titles were added for download. Microsoft had claimed that new titles would be added every week and that there would be over 100 games by the end of 2010. On October 22, 2010, Microsoft announced a revamp of Games On Demand under the "Games for Windows Marketplace" branding. However, this was met with low expectations from reviewers, considering the history of Games for Windows Live on PC. On July 22, 2011, less than a year after the revamp, Microsoft announced that it would merge the Games for Windows Marketplace into the Xbox website.

Store discontinuation

On July 22, 2011, Microsoft announced that they would be scrapping the newly revamped Games for Windows Marketplace website and merged the content with the Xbox website. The Games for Windows Marketplace client, which was another way for users to purchase games, was also reduced to simply opening up the Windows section of Xbox.com. On August 15, 2013, Microsoft announced that the marketplace would be closed on August 22 of the same year. The Marketplace became non-functional in 2018 with purchased games no longer displaying and instead presenting an error saying "There was an error retrieving your purchase history. Please sign out and try again later" despite existing purchases being supposed to still be available to download. The Games for Windows Marketplace client stopped logging in entirely in 2022 due to TLS 1.0 and 1.1 connections being no longer permitted for

accounts to login and therefore presents a connection error when launching the program. The marketplace however, was already non-functional since 2018.

Availability

As of February 10, 2015 Games for Windows – Live was available in 42 countries/territories. Users in other countries can access Live by creating a Gamertag using an address from a supported country, although no technical support is available outside of the supported countries. Since Games for Windows – Live is based on the Xbox Live service, availability is exactly identical to the regional availability of Xbox Live. The Marketplace is not available for all of these regions. Xbox Live availability map

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Controversies

After the official announcement of Games for Windows – Live, many PC gamers were upset with Microsoft's move to charge PC gamers a fee of $49.99 to use the service. Many PC gamers felt this move was unfair, as playing online and many of the other services GFWL offered has, for the most part, always been free on the PC. Microsoft later began offering the service free of charge, after many complaints from PC gamers were made. After the announcement that the PC release of ''

Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of ''Dark Souls (video game), Dark Souls'' (2011) and has ...

'' would use Games for Windows – Live, fans started up a petition to have the game released without the service attached. The online petition gained over 20,000 signatures in under a week, reflecting a notable public dislike of the service among PC gamers.Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of ''Dark Souls (video game), Dark Souls'' (2011) and has ...

"> The game would move to Steamworks in 2014. In January 2020, ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...

'' was removed from sale on

, with

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

stating "With Microsoft no longer supporting Games for Windows – Live, it is no longer possible to generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the current version of the game." In February, Rockstar announced that on March 19, an updated version named ''Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition'', without Games for Windows – Live, would replace the previous version. The online leaderboards and multiplayer were removed as they relied on GFWL services to function. The Rockstar Games Launcher is now required to launch the game, which acts as a replacement for the

and achievements features of GFWL. In 2014,

Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...

and Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition were rendered inoperable due to their reliance on GFWL's

digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures, such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM ...

. In 2021, a patch was released for the

versions of both games that removed GFWL entirely. This patch allowed the game to launch without third-party modification, but prevented some players from accessing DLC initially purchased through the service.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Games For Windows - Live Digital rights management systems Microsoft Gaming Multiplayer video game services Online video game networks Windows games Xbox network