Microsoft has added a new feature to the PlayFab platform — a set of APIs, services, and tools that game developers can use as a comprehensive backend. PlayFab Game Saves will be useful for players who use different platforms and services and don’t want to lose their progress.
Microsoft has added a new feature to the PlayFab platform — a set of APIs, services, and tools that game developers can use as a comprehensive backend. PlayFab Game Saves will be useful for players who use different platforms and services and don’t want to lose their progress.
As Windows Central reports, PlayFab initially focused on games as a service and online platforms, providing toolsets for operational management, analytics, and monetization mechanisms in games. Over time, the platform has expanded to include cross-platform identity management, automation, content management, and a legal framework to help games stay compliant with regulators.
Now Microsoft has announced the launch of PlayFab Game Saves, which could bring significant benefits not only to developers but also to gamers, especially those who frequently play across platforms.
Microsoft’s upcoming portable gaming console Xbox Ally is pushing Xbox Play Anywhere, a pool of games that can be purchased once and support cross-save and cross-progression across both Xbox consoles and the Xbox app for PC. However, many games are avoiding publishing on Xbox PC, settling instead for Steam. The vast majority of games don’t support cross-save at all, and even fewer support cross-save between Xbox, PS5, and Steam, but the new PlayFab Game Saves feature could fix that.
«For more than a decade, Microsoft has set the standard for player progress and reliability with Xbox Game Saves, delivering gaming experiences enjoyed by millions of people around the world across consoles, PC, and the cloud. This industry-leading foundation is now the launch pad for our latest innovation: PlayFab Game Saves. Building on years of operational excellence and feedback from game creators and players, we’re excited to bring these capabilities to cross-platform game developers through PlayFab, starting with support for the Xbox and Steam ecosystems,» said Adam Scugar, Product Manager.
PlayFab Game Saves will allow players to sync their save files across Xbox (One, Series S/X, PC, cloud) and Steam (PC, Steam Deck). The system supports both online and offline play, and also takes into account version conflicts and software dependencies. In the future, it will also restore player saves that may be corrupted due to poor syncing, using version rollback support.
Microsoft says that PlayFab Game Saves is currently available in a «limited» public preview via PlayFab Game Manager for developers. They can request access and join a waitlist.
Microsoft said that PlayFab Game Saves will be available for free to any developer who releases their games on Xbox, even for versions that are not part of the Xbox ecosystem. For games not released on Xbox, Microsoft says it will announce pricing at a later date.
Currently, PlayFab Game Saves only supports the Xbox and Steam platforms, but will likely be available on other platforms in the future.
