Microsoft knows they can't lock down the OS while gaming on Linux [at least] works.
It's truly an insurance policy, and they have to pay it each month -- if they let Linux gaming lag behind long enough, they lose their ground on MS.
Microsoft recently bought ZeniMax, which makes lots of popular titles that I played on Steam. Unreal is working on their own game store. PS and Xbox has had exclusives for years.
If it keeps going this direction, Valve will have to pull a rabbit out of their hat. Either by making some great games again or surprising us with something completely new.
Competition is great for consumers, but I am somewhat rooting for the guys that improve free, open source software in the process.
This is so sad. Just fragmenting the market more merely increases the influence of MS.
> PS and Xbox has had exclusives for years.
These don't really compete with PCs. People stick to one, another, or both. Seldom do gamers suddenly switch from PC to console and completely drop their PC.