Yooka-Laylee now available for Windows 10, but lacks Play Anywhere support

By Matt Brown
published

Yooka-Laylee
Yooka-Laylee (Image credit: Playtonic)

Yooka-Laylee, a 3D platformer from Team17, has appeared on the Windows Store for Windows 10. After initially releasing on console and PC back in April, the game has received a delayed (and surprise) launch on Microsoft's own PC storefront.

Yooka-Laylee is an open-world platformer at its core, reminiscent of Rare's Banjo-Kazooie franchise. Attempting to capture the classic feel of the genre, the game inherits a number of gameplay traits from the iconic series on modern-day platforms.

Although Yooka-Laylee's Windows 10 release is yet to be officially announced, we stumbled across the game earlier today on the Windows Store. Pricing matches the game's Xbox One version at $39.99 but comes in over double the size, at 11.33 GB. Minimum requirements also appear to match the Steam version, requiring at least an Intel i5-2500 3.3GHz, Nvidia GTS450 or AMD Radeon 6850HD and 1 GB of video memory.

Sadly, the game doesn't support Play Anywhere – a recent initiative from Microsoft that enables cross-platform purchases, saves and multiplayer between Xbox One and Windows 10. Microsoft even announced Play Anywhere support for Yooka-Laylee via Xbox Wire (opens in new tab) back in April, before revising the post to clarify it was a mistake. Although support later down the line looked promising, this appears not to be the case.

Nevertheless, for those looking to pick up the game from Microsoft's storefront – click the link below to be taken to the Windows Store.

Download Yooka-Laylee from the Windows Store (opens in new tab)

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.

20 Comments
  • I am eager to play some of these new titles but if it doesn't support play anywhere and is still on both Xbox and Windows Store then I won't buy it at all. Its the same store, I would much rather see an increase in price to have it on both than needing to pay twice for separate (same) games.
  • Your choice, but also extremely childish imo. Like saying I won't buy it if it won't work on PlayStation and Xbox without having to buy it twice. PC and Xbox are separate platforms and Microsoft said it's up to the developer.
  • No, just One: Microsoft Store. How do you intend to unify and boost Xbox if you sell the game x2?
  • Xbox doesn't need a boost, this is solely for the Windows Store.
  • Assuming it to be so, why not unify your two platforms in a single game ecosystem?
  • I've been waiting to buy my first play anywhere title.... this one would of been it. Shame.
  • No Play Anywhere = No buy !
  • Then, Im not gonna buy it.
  • Are you sure its a surprise? I could swear I saw this was going to be Play Anywhere ages ago and was confirmed because it made me consider it over waiting for the Switch version
  • Lacking Play Anywhere support? Then I guess it will also be lacking my purchase. 
  • Well the advantage here is double gamerscore, achievement hunters like this, I like it and will buy.
  • That's not always the case, though. Some games launch on both Xbox One and Windows 10 without Play Anywhere support but with the same achievement list (e.g. Ori and the Blind forest: DE), whereas others do have separate achievement lists (e.g. Abzu).
  • True, but in this case there is a separate achievement list.
  • And all these comments are what is going to kill games on the Windows Store, all because people are tight arses.
  • No kidding a giant bunch of jerky whiners. I feel very disappointed with the comments under this article. I see this as a good sign for Windows store gaming. Steam and Origin need more competition and game developers need to make money.
  • I bought the xbox version but not gonna buy it twice. It'd be just nice if this is a XPA title and I can continue my progress in the coffee shop, on the train or plane.. * Middle Earth, Enter the Gungeon and Snake are XPA titles, go buy those.
  • I know right, it's almost like there isn't an already competing games store. 
    A games store that supports this game on Windows, Mac OS and Linux, that supports cloud saving across all those platforms and rewards you with some kind of trading card, and has achivements. It's crazy to think that they even have sales and the price of the games generally go down in price over time too. I mean, all these tight arses complaing about having to spend more money than they need to after working for it just so they can buy a superior digital product. Crazy. People just want to let off a little Steam.
  • I own the xbox version but not gonna buy this twice. It'd be just nice to have it as a XPA title so that I can continue my progress when I'm out. * Middle Earth, Enter the Gungeon and Snake are XPA titles, go buy those.
  • No Play Anywhere, no Game.
  • Middle Earth, Enter the Gungeon and Snake are XPA titles, go buy those. I own the xbox version already but tbh... sad to see this came out as a separate game on win10.
    * I carry Bluetooth XB1 Gamepad and Surface Pro 4 (Alienware, depends on the day) with me almost everyday.