By Kris Graft
A new Games for Windows - Live update is "a tipping point in the evolution" of the service, according to general manager Ron Pessner.
One of the biggest parts of the update to Microsoft's online PC gaming service is an anti-piracy solution that implements zero-day piracy protection and server-side authentication to thwart piracy before a game's street date. The update would require consumers to authenticate a game for online play.
The update will also add new marketplace APIs that will allow developers to create in-game store fronts that would host add-on content for games.
A new "roaming" feature lets users save their Games for Windows - Live settings in the cloud, and access those settings from any connected Windows PC.
Games for Windows - Live has seen "staggering" growth in the past six months, Microsoft said in a Tuesday statement. The service received an update last November, and is used in Bethesda Softworks' Fallout 3 for PC and Relic and THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, two games that surely drove growth for the service.
Microsoft is continuing to build partnerships with developers to adopt Games for Windows - Live. There are currently "several projects underway which will incorporate the Live service," Pessner added.
