Microsoft"s plans for the launch of Windows 8 later this year apparently include offering some exclusive games as well. Rock Paper Shotgun reports that for the upcoming launch of the turn-based strategy game Skulls of the Shogun, developer 17-Bit Studios will make the PC version of the game a Windows 8 exclusive. In other words, it won"t be available for Windows XP, Vista or 7 (it will also be launched for Windows Phone and for the Xbox 360).
Asked why the development team made the game a Windows 8 exclusive for the PC, Skulls of the Shogun"s designer and programmer Borut Pfeifer stated:
Working with MS, we were all really excited about the cross-platform nature of the game (it’s a great fit for mouse, touch, and gamepad, which is rare). We had a choice to support either Windows 8 or GFWL on Windows 7.
Borut states that Windows 8 has a number of improvements for PC games compared to Windows 7 and Games for Windows Live, and also that programming the game for Windows 8 is easier than for Windows 7. There"s another, and mysterious, reason for the Windows 8 exclusive that will be revealed later this year at PAX Prime.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun