Microsoft issued a great big "never mind" for Games for Windows Live. You know Games for Windows Live, right? You probably installed it when you played Universe at War on your PC. You didn't play that one? Okay, how about Shadowrun? Were you one of the twenty or thirty people who played that? No? Gears of War on the PC? Yeah, there's a PC version of Gears of Wars (special bonus boss battle pictured above). You learn something new every day, huh?

This PC version of Xbox Live was an attempt to charge a fee for multiplayer support for games you've already paid for. This worked just fine for Microsoft in the early days of online console gaming, when the Xbox was just getting underway. But that was console gaming. The last time us PC gamers paid for our online gaming was probably when we got our Kali licenses ten years ago.

However, Games for Windows Live isn't going away. Instead, it will now be free and therefore less ridiculous. It will continue to emulate various Xbox Live gimmicks like achievements and gamer profiles. It will also serve as home for a new Games for Windows marketplace that will be used to sell you stuff. In other words, scooch over, Impulse, Gametap, Direct2Drive, Gamersgate, and Steam.