Microsoft is expanding the Xbox app on Windows by adding a new feature called ‘My Apps’, which is currently available to Xbox Insiders. This feature allows users to access and manage third-party applications and game stores, including Steam, Battle.net, and GOG Galaxy, directly within the Xbox app. The aim is to give PC gamers a central place to launch and organize their games from multiple platforms, reducing the need to switch between different apps.
The ‘My Apps’ feature consolidates various gaming utilities, storefronts, and web-based applications into a single interface. Users can browse installed apps, locate new ones, and launch them without leaving the Xbox app. This integration is designed to streamline the gaming experience, making it easier to manage multiple platforms and reducing the friction that often comes from juggling separate game launchers.
One of the main benefits of this feature is its usefulness for handheld gaming devices. Microsoft highlighted its integration with the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally, which is set to launch on October 16. The device will boot into a gaming-optimized interface, and the ‘My Apps’ tab will allow users to move seamlessly between different applications and storefronts within a full-screen Xbox experience. This is intended to create a more fluid experience for both PC and handheld gamers, bringing a console-like convenience to portable gaming.
“My apps enables players on an ROG Xbox Ally or other Windows 11 handhelds to more easily navigate between applications from the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming. With new modifications that minimize background activity and defer non-essential tasks, more system resources are dedicated specifically to gameplay,” the company said in a blog post.
While My Apps is still in its beta phase, the Redmond-headquartered company has indicated that it plans to expand the selection of supported applications over time. The latest move is part of the company’s broader strategy to create a more open and integrated gaming ecosystem on Windows.
However, despite such advancements, the company is facing significant challenges across its gaming division. The software giant has had to navigate multiple rounds of job cuts, particularly following its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023. In January 2024, around 1,900 positions across Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard were eliminated, and by June 2025, over 300 more roles were cut. In July 2025, Microsoft again announced plans to reduce about 9,000 additional positions, affecting about 4% of its global workforce, following an earlier cut of 6,000 jobs in May 2025. Although the tech titan’s gaming revenue has shown steady growth, its Xbox hardware sales have struggled. By mid-2024, revenue from Xbox Series X and S had declined 42% compared to the previous year, and by early 2025, only 8.3 million units were sold in Europe, falling short of the 10.4 million Xbox One units sold in the same period after its launch. At the same time, Microsoft’s capital spending surged 53% to $21.4 billion in Q3 FY2025.
