Fallout 3 receives a surprise update, the patch notes of which contain only two new features: performance and stability are improved, and Games for Windows Live is no longer available. Both may be seen in a causal context.
Games for Windows Live is thrown out
With the new version 1.7.0.4 it is now possible to start the game without installing Games for Windows Live. The cumbersome, because Microsoft-typical, hidden creation of an offline account is no longer necessary, as are the potential causes of crashes and sources of error. Since the service was switched off in 2014, the role-playing game can now be played again without any workarounds. Fallout 3 is the last of the big “GfWL” titles to expand the clientele. Most recently, Rockstar removed the relic from GTA IV because no further activation keys could be generated after the setting.
Ironically, it took Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda to remove a Microsoft service from the game. However, the step does not seem absolutely illogical. On the one hand, Microsoft keeps classic games fresh and thereby enhances the GamePass offer, on the other hand, a reference to a significant failure is erased, which was a red rag for gamers. In principle, then, it is a question of double image cultivation, in that the service is now completely abandoned to oblivion. In any case, only Steam and Microsoft Store draw level, because GOG has been without the service for a long time.
Failed to start
Games for Windows Live should be 2007 Xbox 360 and PC connect, but at the same time establish a paid live service on the PC. Windows Vista as a requirement and an annual fee of 50 US dollars – which was quickly dropped – were and are difficult to enforce on the PC. There was hardly any cross play, neither was there a high-profile offer or an emphatically pursued strategy. On the contrary, Games for Windows Live was perceived as a nuisance, which was expressed, among other things, in petitions for games such as Dark Souls, which still use it.