HiGame

This week, Microsoft at last confirmed the Windows 10 upgrades we’ll all be receiving in a few short weeks will come with an important feature: Once you upgrade to the new version of Windows, your authenticated copy of Windows 10 will provide you with a key that can be used to perform clean installs rather than an in-place upgrade. After this initial process, you won’t have to keep your old key, drop a CD in the drive, or otherwise mirror the original Windows installation.



This suggests Microsoft will effectively allow people to redeem previous Windows keys for new Windows 10 iterations, which will then be tied to whatever version of the OS you’re qualified to own. There’s no word yet on what happens if, for example, you redeem a legitimate Windows 7 key for a new Windows 10 key, then upgrade the underlying hardware in the box. Gamers with legitimate copies of Windows 7 or 8/8.1 may want to do any upgrades they intend to make before actually installing the new version of Windows 10 — it’s possible that upgrading the hardware post-OS install will lock the key to a particular platform and make it more difficult to swap components in the future.

When Microsoft launched its last software-as-a-service push with Office 365, it simultaneously introduced requirements that made reinstallation and upgrades more onerous than they had been previously. Specifically, it became (temporarily) against the terms of service to remove the software from one installed system and put it on another. The company later modified this wording after consumer pressure, but the terms and conditions surrounding Windows 10 and its upgrade / reinstallation policies still haven’t been clarified.

Phil Spencer promises unified Xbox One, Windows 10 gaming experience

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced it will support PC Gamer’s efforts to host a PC gaming-themed event at E3. For years, PC gaming has been all-but ignored — Valve’s Steam has hauled in hundreds of millions of dollars over the last ten years, while Microsoft’s efforts to build a credible Windows Store or its own Games for Windows Live platform have been wretched by comparison. Xbox head Phil Spencer has made it clear he wants to change this and outlined a plan to offer Xbox as a multi-platform gaming brand that would extend across both PCs and the Xbox One itself. Details on the plan are still vague, though Microsoft has promised that Windows 10 device owners who own Xboxes and compatible networking hardware will be able to stream games from Xbox to PC across local networks.




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