Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney Explains What Microsoft Needs To Do With UWPs

Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney has written a new opinion piece regarding UWPs. Tim explains what he likes about UWP, and what direction Microsoft should take with it.

It may seem strange for Tim to defend UWPs and Microsoft, but perhaps it should not be. Tim describes Microsoft’s response so far as courteous, level-headed, and free of corporate PR. Tim seems to imply he brought the issue out in the open so that the public can be a part of a discussion Microsoft, Epic Games, and other stakeholders have been holding behind the scenes.

Tim argues for UWPs by calling it a solution for sandboxing and application security. UWP’s predecessor, Win32, is completely open, but also constrained by backwards compatibility and insecure. Both legitimate and malware programs run on Win32. UWP is more secure than Win32, and will allow developers to more easily program in modern features.

As Tim explained in his first article, the problem with UWPs right now is Microsoft is not distributing and featuring them in Windows 10 in a way that makes them open. Developers have to submit their programs to Microsoft for approval and to get inserted with DRM. Technically, Windows users can open any UWP in Windows 10 like they can an .exe file, but they have to go through different system settings to do so.

Tim keeps his advice simple. Microsoft needs to put all PC storefronts, like Windows Store, Steam, GOG, and others, on equal footing, such that they can all freely sell and distribute UWP games. He also explains all developers and users have equal access to Windows 10’s settings and features in managing UWPs, so that it’s easy and unobtrusive for everyone. Lastly, Tim states Microsoft need to strongly affirm their commitment to Windows being an open platform.

Would you be open to buying UWP games if Microsoft made the changes Tim outlined? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.