Microsoft says it isn't shutting down Games for Windows Live

Microsoft has formally denied it will deactivate its Games for Windows Live service for PC at the beginning of July, as had been rumored since August of last year and anticipated as developers — including a studio owned by Microsoft — stopped using it.

In a statement to Game Informer, Microsoft said "We are continuing to support the Games for Widows Live service," and "We remain committed to investing in PC gaming in the years ahead, and look forward to sharing more in the future."

Just Thursday, Twisted Pixel, the maker of Ms. Splosion Man, announced it would leave GFWL to use Valve's Steamworks for matchmaking, sharing user-created content and achievements.

In August, Microsoft said in on a support page for Age of Empires Online that Games For Windows Live would be discontinued on July 1, 2014. The post was quickly removed. Microsoft did discontinue the PC marketplace on Games for Windows Live, which it noted was part of ending Microsoft Points and switching to real currency on Xbox Live.

"Although customers are unable to purchase new games from the marketplace or receive title updates, they can continue to enjoy previously purchased content by downloading them through the Games for Windows Live client as usual," the company said to Game Informer.

Back in March, Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, said Microsoft was working toward "a renewed focus on Windows and PC gaming." However, he indicated that the company wasn't looking "to go compete with what Valve has done."

He said then that "you will get a clear answer from us very soon," indicating there would be more to come in the summer. "It's just whether what we have today is the core of what we have [in the future] and it's probably not."