Adam Jensen said:
You can't trust Microsoft. They want full control. The problem is that Microsoft is shaping themselves into a service platform. And since games are designed to run primarily on Windows OS, they absolutely will eventually try to force everything to go through Windows Store in order to be installed on Windows at all. Even if they're "denying it" now with their vague statements, don't be fooled. That is exactly what they're planning. Even if it's an overreaction, it's better to overreact than to let it go and basically tell Microsoft "go ahead, fuck us over".
I suppose I should trust the perspective of a time traveler from a dystopian plutocratic future, but since today's government is still entirely in the "monopolies are bad and no amount of money will make me not dislike them" camp, I refuse to believe that Microsoft can accomplish what you're saying without crossing several major lines, and getting sued out of existence for trying to establish an illegal monopoly over the PC gaming market, because that's the scenario you've described, a monopoly.
As hard as it may be to believe Mr. Jensen, today's corporations still have lines they won't cross, and there's a HUGE difference bewtween EA or UbiSoft (or whoever) price gouging its customers with DLC and micro transactions, and trying to control them with Online Passes (a fortunately extinct practice), and Microsoft actively trying to monopolize the PC gaming market, they already had to brave through one antitrust lawsuit back in 2001, they sure as hell don't need another.
And even if for whatever reason the US government doesn't give a damn about Microsoft's attempt at a PC gaming monopoly, Microsoft still wouldn't do it because the instant they try they will alienate so much potential PC gaming developers that Mac OS, Linux and Steam OS are gonna eat Windows' market share for breakfast.