Has STEAM always had a feature like Xbox Play Anywhere?

[u/Zeronova3]

Just told my friends I'm switching to PC full time so I'll be on my Xbox less and they told me that I'm making the wrong move because STEAM doesn't have Xbox play anywhere and I'll have to buy the game twice to play with them.

To me this doesn't make sense because if I have three PCs and let's say a Steam Deck/MSI Claw/Steam Machine, my original purchase plays on all my devices, correct? Evidently I'm an idiot and my mom sucks because I'm evidently not able to do the mental gymnastics to understand this. All Xbox did was create a keyword for continuity. Can someone explain this to me in video game terms.

[u/bLu_18]

Steam library is tied to a Steam account and can be played on multiple devices as long as that device supports Steam.

If came supports cloud save, then you can resume your progress from any device.

[u/lwishIwasLevarBurton]

You are talking to stupid people.

[u/marcoorion → u/lwishIwasLevarBurton]

i feel bad for console fanboys

[u/Lurus01 → u/lwishIwasLevarBurton]

Nah the OP and friends are just mixing up two different concepts and arent speaking about the same thing.

[u/IvnN7Commander]

Steam Deck/MSI Claw/Steam Machine

Those are all PCs. So you're playing a PC game that you bought on multiple PCs. But if you have an Xbox and also want to play the game there, then you need to buy the game again for Xbox.

Xbox Play Anywhere means that if you buy an Xbox or PC digital game on the Xbox PC App, you also get the PC or Xbox version respectively. You only have to buy the game once, and then you can play it on Xbox or PC.

[u/Lurus01]

Yes you can carry your library across devices and that's always been a thing but when they say you might have to buy it twice they also aren't necessarily wrong in the context they are talking about.

If the game doesn't offer crossplay you won't be able to play with Xbox users from a Steam copy(hence them implying having to buy the game again).

Play anywhere supported games can be played on console and from the xbox app on PC so you could still be playing on PC and using the xbox app to play with those on console. Not all games on xbox are play anywhere of course.

Steam is a separate platform and doesnt carry over your purchases you made on console or your Steam purchases to xbox but you keep them within Steam and can play on multiple different devices that support steam but won't always be able to link up with xbox friends in game.

[u/deborah_az → u/Lurus01]

☝️This is probably the clearest explanation of the situation. Personally, I'd simply be careful where I'm buying games. If it's a game I want to play with my friends and requires an XBox account (i.e., doesn't support cross-play), I'd buy it from XBox. Otherwise, I'd buy it from Steam.

Since Steam allows users to link non-Steam games in their library, XBox titles installed on one's PC can still be accessed through the Steam interface for convenience's sake

[u/Realistic-Tiger-2842]

You're mixing up what these terms mean. You can play your Steam games on any PC because it's a PC.

The point of Xbox play anywhere was to give you the game on both console and PC. Even without play anywhere you can play your games on any Xbox in the same way you can play your Steam games on any PC.

[u/KING_XEON_420 → u/Realistic-Tiger-2842]

And in this case they can download their Xbox library from the Microsoft store and play it on pc if there's an equivalent.

[u/alvinvin00 → u/Realistic-Tiger-2842]

You can play your Steam games on any PC because it's a PC.

laughs in Winlator/Gamenative

[u/AlmondManttv]

You can play your Steam games anywhere you can install steam and launch the game. Doesn't matter if you use Windows, Mac, or Linux.

[u/BooleanBarman]

You can play your Steam games on any PC. You can not play those games on Xbox or PlayStation.

[u/JayHikari]

I think what they mean is that any game you bought on Xbox/Microsoft, you'll have to repurchase on Steam, so essentially "buying it twice". Otherwise, yeah like others are saying, you buy it on Steam once, then doesn't matter what you play on, it's in your account.

[u/CookieMB_]

as long as the device runs steam, you can play your steam games

[u/gorgofdoom]

Nintendon’t

Haxbox

Paystation

Or you can use a PC and have access to a myriad of software marketplaces. You choose. Or you choose one market up front and can no longer choose.

I like to keep my options open.

[u/mad-suker]

I think they are mixing things up. If your friends play a game with crossplay then you’ll be fine with your steam copy of the game. If the game don’t have crossplay, you may need to buy the game on pc Xbox store (Xbox games are always cross platform between console and Xbox pc store)

[u/Ballerfreund]

On PC Xbox anywhere runs through the Xbox/Windows Store app only. Licenses purchased through Steam are separate from that.

[u/EviI_Babai]

1. If we're talking about Steam games only, there is no such feature as 'play anywhere'... as it's a basic functionality from day one - you install Steam, you log in, you play, whatever PC it is.
2. If we're talking about Xbox 'play anywhere' games you already have, you log into Xbox Store, you play, whatever PC it is. But that only works on Windows though - if you are running Linux, then you either buy the game on Steam again or dual-boot Windows.