Well, this is a day people have been wondering about for ages! Xbox has announced that Steam integration is now being rolled out to the Xbox PC app as part of a new feature, along with support for "leading PC storefronts".
This is to do with something called your Aggregated Gaming Library, and it's designed to let you access all your games from one place. You seemingly still need to have the likes of Steam and other launchers installed in order to see these titles, but as long they're on your PC, they should also appear in the Xbox PC app.
For now, the catch is that this feature is only available to Xbox Insiders enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview.
Here's how Xbox describes Steam integration and the Aggregated Gaming Library:
"With the aggregated gaming library, players can conveniently launch games from Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net and other leading PC storefronts from a single library within the Xbox PC app. Whether you’re on a Windows PC or a handheld device, your Xbox library, hundreds of Game Pass titles, and all your installed games from leading PC storefronts will now be at your fingertips.
When a player installs a game from a supported PC storefront, it will automatically appear in “My library” within the Xbox PC app, as well as the “Most recent” list of titles in the sidebar—making it easier than ever to jump back into your games."
This feature feels like perfect timing for the release of the ROG Xbox Ally handheld later this year, as we know that Xbox has been working hard to try and eliminate the struggles of Windows that currently exist on handheld PCs. Thanks to the Aggregated Gaming Library, once you've installed your Steam, Battle.Net, Epic Games Store (etc.) titles on the ROG Xbox Ally, you should then be able to access them all directly from the system's main Xbox UI.
Of course, there's always a chance you might not be interested in this, in which case they've added the ability to turn off certain storefronts via the settings menu of the Xbox PC app. It's also been mentioned that they're going to roll out support for more storefronts over time, so here's hoping all the best ones will be incorporated before long.
We'll leave you with a bit more information about this below, and again, keep in mind this is just for Xbox Insiders via the PC Gaming Preview right now - Xbox specifically says the feature will begin rolling out "this week" to eligible Insiders.
"Starting this week users enrolled in the PC Gaming Preview can get a first look at the new aggregated gaming library in the Xbox PC app for Windows 11 PCs and handheld devices.
The feature will be available this holiday on the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, where players will see their aggregated gaming library within the new Xbox full screen experience. With this new feature, your Xbox library, hundreds of Game Pass titles (membership required), and all your installed games from other PC game stores are always at your fingertips."
