I wrote recently how Xbox Play Anywhere has a "AAA" problem. At least the company continues to chip away at it.
The past couple of weeks, users noticed that hotly-anticipated open world RPG Crimson Desert grabbed an Xbox Play Anywhere tag on its Deluxe Edition. Many wondered if it was some kind of mistake, but fast forward to today, and it seemingly isn't. Crimson Desert is now officially listed as Xbox Play Anywhere for Xbox Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S on its store page.
I wrote recently about how Xbox Play Anywhere's uptake from third-party publishers is aggressively inconsistent. The same week Resident Evil Village grabbed Xbox Play Anywhere support, it was revealed that Resident Evil Requiem, arriving in a few weeks here, will not support Xbox Play Anywhere. This is despite Capcom supporting Xbox Play Anywhere with titles like Exoprimal and Kunitsu-Gami — suggesting that the firm just isn't that interested in the paradigm.
Xbox Play Anywhere gives players cross-platform access on a single purchase, accessible via Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Series X|S consoles, and Xbox PC for devices like laptops, desktops, and the Xbox Ally handheld.
Earlier today, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza was added to Xbox Game Pass. The spin-off supports Xbox Play Anywhere alongside Yakuza: Like a Dragon, however, its inclusion highlighted the fact that other recent Yakuza re-releases are, frustratingly, not available on Xbox Play Anywhere — and previous versions have actually been removed from Xbox PC.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii just got added to Xbox Game Pass. www.xbox.com/en-us/games/...
— @klobrille.bsky.social (@klobrille.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-02-03T14:56:57.724Z
Indeed, Sega recently delisted some previously-available older Yakuza versions from Xbox PC. The firm did the same on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation, replacing them with the updated, remade Yakuza Kiwami versions. Frustratingly, those versions did not arrive for Xbox PC, leaving the Xbox PC store as the only platform without replaced Yakuza versions.
The inconsistencies continue to highlight how frustrating Microsoft's Xbox Play Anywhere push is overall. Microsoft is spending a ton of money marketing its "Xbox Anywhere" strategy, with its controversial "This is an Xbox" messaging. But the lack of fresh third-party content on Xbox PC or Xbox Play Anywhere undermines the entire gimmick.
As Steam looks to challenge traditional console platforms with its Steam Machine and Steam Deck hardware ecosystem, Microsoft's half-in approach to Xbox Play Anywhere serves to make Steam's approach more attractive. Every single game on Steam can be played anywhere Steam is available — Microsoft is coming at the strategy from the other direction, depending on publisher's charitable nature to opt-in to Xbox PC.
Some games can be played on Xbox Series X|S, some games on Xbox PC, some support cross-platform saving, some don't. A few support Xbox Cloud Gaming, fewer still support Xbox Ally. Steam is offering thousands of games, new and old, already, across its entire stack.
Considering the next Xbox is a PC, is Microsoft simply waiting for next-gen to hope developers support Xbox PC? It seems like a bit of a risky bet.
It's a huge win every time a big, anticipated game like Crimson Desert hits Xbox Play Anywhere. I don't want to discredit the work being done to solve this content gap, but it also puts a spotlight on the misses. And there are a lot of misses.
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