We already know that Microsoft has plans for a Windows event on January 21. We also know that Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox division and Microsoft Studios, will be in attendance along with Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. These executives plan to reveal the "next chapter" of Windows 10, and now we know what Spencer is going to talk about.
"I'll be focusing more on what we are doing on Win10 in January, it's time for us to talk about gaming on Windows," Spencer said via Twitter. He responded to a question regarding possible footage of Windows 10 running on Xbox One.
PC gaming has seemingly been put on the back burner while Microsoft scrambles to make the Windows platform more tolerable to the general consumer. The company closed its Games for Windows Marketplace back in August 2013, forcing PC gamers to get their fix on Steam and other digital distribution platforms. However, Microsoft reassured gamers that the company is making Windows the ultimate platform for entertainment and gaming.
"We're getting very strong support internally. So we're really going after PC," said creative director Ken Lobb back in February.
The statement seemingly points to the upcoming DirectX 12 API, which will be included in the final version of Windows 10 that's scheduled to launch in late Q2 2015 or early Q3 2015. This version of DirectX will be "closer to the hardware," which in turn will provide better performance due to a lighter overhead load. DirectX 12 will run on many GPUs currently on the market.
There's speculation that Spencer may show compatibility between Windows 10 on the desktop, the Xbox One console, tablets, and smartphones during the event in January. This would fit within the "consumer features" that Microsoft plans to reveal. The company is also supposedly set to showcase Windows 10 for mobile devices that works on both x86-based and ARM-based hardware, thus presenting a unified platform.
Are you looking forward to the January reveal? Will Microsoft finally talk about what's going on with Games For Windows Live? We can't wait to see what Microsoft has up its sleeve.
Follow Kevin Parrish @exfileme. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.