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Games For Windows Live Shutting Down This Month
Current users of the service will be able to play their Games for Windows Lives games indefinitely, but don't expect to buy anything from the store after August.
After August 22, the marketplace will officially close, along with any leftover credit you have not redeemed by that time. Microsoft is encouraging user to spend the rest of their Microsoft points before that date. The closure of the marketplace is a product of the upcoming changes to Xbox Live's marketplace, and the abandonment of Microsoft points.
As part of the recent Xbox 360 system update, Microsoft Points will be retired and the Xbox.com PC Marketplace will be closed as of August 22, 2013. We encourage you to spend your Microsoft Points balance prior to this change. Although you will not be able to purchase new games, you can continue to enjoy previously purchased content by downloading it through the Games for Windows Live client software as usual.
For more on the closure, you can check out Microsoft's full FAQ.
[Source: Microsoft]
Our Take
Games for Windows Live has long suffered from the crippling debilitation of not being Steam – a struggle EA's Origin service is currently facing. I can't imagine any players are upset that the service is disappearing.
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