Moddability to arrive on Microsoft Store

The PC gaming department of Microsoft Store has been historically lagging behind its competitors. However, last year, the company acquired several game studios including Obsidian and inXile. Then, in June, Microsoft launched  Xbox Games Pass on PC, with over 100 big titles arriving on its storefront as part of the subscription. And last week, it seems, the publisher started implementing another feature to revamp Microsoft Store – the modding option.

A reddit user Pycorax spotted a new folder that the latest Windows update added to Programs Files. The new folder is called ‘ModdableWindowsApps.’ As the official website explains, the folder has been added so that “users can modify the installation files (for example, to install mods). This element is currently intended to be used only by certain types desktop of PC games that are published by Microsoft and our partners. The users will also be able to install mods in other custom folders.

Adding mod support might be one of the measures that Phil Spenser hinted at when he told PC gamer that “throughout 2019, you’ll begin to see where we’ve been investing to deliver across Store, services, in Windows and in great games. It’s just the beginning.”

With Microsoft’s priority being “delivering a new Store experience for games,” it doesn’t mean that all games on Microsoft Store will be moddable on PC. It is ultimately up to developers whether to implement the feature in their games.

In any case, there’s hope that Microsoft is on the right track to impove the store that has been once described as abomination.