Users, each with a unique Gamertag (the Microsoft username service for gaming that began on Xbox Live), were able to play online, keep track of their friends' status, send and receive messages, gain and keep track of Achievements and associated Gamerscore, voice chat across platforms (removed in 2010), and more.

[6] Universe at War: Earth Assault from Sega and Lost Planet: Colonies Edition from Capcom include cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and Windows over Live.

On July 22, 2008, Microsoft's Chris Satchell, CTO of the company's Entertainment devices division, announced that Games For Windows – Live would be free to developers.

Additionally, all Games For Windows – Live features became free for gamers, such as matchmaking and cross-platform play.

Luehmann reassured PC gamers that more big titles were on the way, however the studio plans to test new ideas.

On August 31, 2012, Gotham City Impostors became free-to-play and dropped Games for Windows – LIVE in favor of Steamworks.

On October 10, 2012, the Steam version of Toy Soldiers was updated to fully use Steamworks, although it still gives the option to use the original service.

[19] On November 28, 2012, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon became the first (and only) retail Games for Windows – LIVE title announced for 2013.

[21] On March 7, 2013, Microsoft Studios announced Age of Empires II: HD Edition + The Conquerors would be released exclusively on Steam.

[24] In August 2013, a since-deleted support article for Age of Empires Online announced that the Games for Windows – Live service would be discontinued on July 1, 2014.

[32]The in-game overlay, however, still works fully on all games already owned either digitally or retail, with long login times ranging from 1-5 minutes.

These Achievement points are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as beating a level or amassing a specified number of wins against other players in online matches.

On May 26, 2007, Halo 2 was the first Games for Windows – Live title to feature Achievements, which counted towards a player's Gamerscore.

The pieces of information on a Gamercard include: the user's Gamertag (in front a silver or gold bar), reputation, Gamerscore, Gamer Zone and recently played games.

Developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge (United Kingdom), the TrueSkill ranking system is now used in many titles for Games for Windows – Live.

It can predict the probability of each game outcome, which enhances competitive matchmaking, making it possible to assemble skill-balanced teams from a group of players with different abilities.

To provide less competitive games, the system supports unranked Player Matches, which allow individuals of any skill level to be paired (often including "guests" on an account).

The guide includes messaging (text and voice), friends list, recent players, private chat, and personal settings.

With version 3.0 of the Games for Windows – Live service, an in-game marketplace was included; in addition to new account management tools, such as the ability to change a Gamertag for 800 Microsoft Points.

[36] The in-game marketplace enables users to purchase DLC without exiting, as it installs the content directly from within the game.

On December 15, 2009, Microsoft launched Games on Demand, a digital distribution service offering titles such as Resident Evil 5 and Battlestations: Pacific.

Also available are arcade games such as a free version of Microsoft Tinker, a former exclusive to Windows Vista Ultimate, as well as World of Goo and Osmos.

The majority of the other titles on the service use a SecuROM DRM that lets the user activate the game up to five times each month on any hardware.

[43][47][49] On July 22, 2011, less than a year after the revamp, Microsoft announced that it would merge the Games for Windows Marketplace into the Xbox website.

The online petition gained over 20,000 signatures in under a week, reflecting a notable public dislike of the service among PC gamers.