Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 10 will launch it across 190 countries in 111 different languages this summer. It will be offered as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8 owners, per an announcement on the official Windows blog. Most important for Microsoft is getting the huge numbers of China’s users to upgrade, and to do that Microsoft is enlisting some help. Microsoft move underscores just how much the software giant will be supporting gaming as a vital part of Windows 10 and why people should upgrade.
Microsoft’s key partnership in China is with the world’s largest game company Tencent, who will create a new Windows 10-based universal app that ties in with its popular QQ app. This will be hugely important in extending the program’s userbase, since the QQ app currently has over 800 million users in China.
As a result, Tencent will adapt a number of popular games for use with Windows 10, including Riot Games’ immensely popular League of Legends, as well as Cross Fire and Dungeon & Fighter. The video below details just how important it is that Microsoft and Tencent are working together through Windows 10.
Other partners in the Chinese market include Lenovo, which will offer Windows 10 as an upgrade across 2,500 service centers and retail stores in China; and Qihu 360, a leading Internet security company that will offer the upgrade for free to customers through seamless upgrades.
This could be a huge push for Microsoft in China, and could also lead the way for other business opportunities for the company’s tech, including the Xbox One, which recently went through a soft launch following the country’s lift of a ban on game consoles. However, one step at a time, as Windows 10 is getting the focus – and a huge one, at that.
Microsoft isn’t stopping with consoles and PCs, though, in its quest to make the most of Windows 10. TechCrunch has reported that Microsoft is working on software that converts Android phones to Windows 10, and it will be testing that out with users of Xiaomi’s best-selling smartphones in China. Like all Windows 10 versions, that will include an Xbox app, which may help convince people to keep Windows 10 on their smartphones. If that process of converting Android phones to Windows actually works well, it could be a significant way for Microsoft to gain a credible market share in the smartphone market.
Windows 10 is shaping up to be a very significant upgrade, and the most important Windows version ever for gaming. We’ll be keeping an eye on its progress.
