The flak continues for Microsoft, after the introduction of a new regulation that prohibits the distribution of games rated above ESRB Mature and Pegi 16 through the Windows 8 store. This includes titles Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, Bioshock et cetera. It’s been a bad few weeks for the new OS and games. Notch won’t certify Minecraft for Windows 8. Gabe Newell called the new OS a catastrophe. 

This does not mean that 18-rated games will not be playable on Windows 8. Presumably games bought from Steam or Origin or elsewhere will work just fine. This is Microsoft’s shop. But the connotations for the future are scary. What if a Windows Store presence becomes a necessity for Windows 8 games? How many publishers could resist that user base (and how many users could resist Windows)? And then what – a world of PEGI 16 games?