If you’ve ever had to buy the same game two or three times just to play it on different platforms, you’ve probably wondered why video games don’t have something like Movies Anywhere. With Movies Anywhere, you purchase a film once and then link your accounts across Amazon, Google, Apple, and other services. No matter where you watch it, your movie library follows you. Imagine if video games worked the same way — a single purchase that carried over across Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. That’s the idea behind what I’ll call Games Anywhere.
The system would be fairly simple. You’d still buy your game on your platform of choice — say, on Nintendo’s eShop. That becomes your “home” license. But if you later wanted to play the same title on PlayStation or Xbox, you wouldn’t need to re-buy it for the full price. Instead, you’d pay a smaller platform access fee, basically the storefront’s cut. This way, the publisher still gets paid for the game itself, and the platform holder still gets their share for hosting it. To keep things fair, the game wouldn’t live in two places at once. Much like checking out a digital movie from your library, you could load it onto one system at a time, deactivating it from the other.
Of course, this wouldn’t apply to everything. Exclusive games would remain exclusive. Nintendo would still hold on to Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros., Sony would still guard Spider-Man, and Microsoft would still keep Halo. Games Anywhere would instead focus on the huge catalog of third-party titles — the games that currently force you to double or even triple dip if you want them on multiple systems.
There are clear benefits to a system like this. It would make digital game libraries far more consumer-friendly, letting players build a collection that isn’t locked to a single machine. It would also help with digital preservation. One of the biggest frustrations for players is losing access to a game when a console generation ends or a storefront shuts down. A universal license would give players confidence that their purchases won’t disappear into digital limbo. At the same time, it wouldn’t cheat platforms or publishers out of revenue. The fee model ensures that everyone involved still gets compensated fairly, while consumers avoid the frustration of buying the same product multiple times.
It’s not hard to imagine how this might look. We’ve already seen glimpses of it in the industry. Microsoft has experimented with cross-buy between Xbox and PC, letting players purchase a game once and enjoy it on both systems. Ubisoft and EA let players link accounts across platforms, though the execution isn’t always perfect. Even Steam has allowed some games to link with Epic or other launchers, recognizing a purchase made elsewhere. These examples show that the concept isn’t impossible — it’s just not fully unified.
Still, there are major obstacles. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft all rely heavily on keeping their ecosystems separate. If players could freely carry games between platforms, companies would lose some of the “lock-in” that drives console loyalty. On a technical level, there are hurdles too, from integrating achievement and trophy systems to syncing cloud saves across very different infrastructures. And publishers themselves might resist, especially those who prefer to keep players tied to their own ecosystems like EA Play or Ubisoft Connect.
Despite the challenges, the potential is exciting. Games Anywhere wouldn’t erase the identities of the platforms we know today. Mario would still be Nintendo’s mascot, Spider-Man would still swing only on PlayStation, and Halo would remain Xbox’s flagship. But for everything else, players could finally enjoy the kind of flexibility that movie fans have had for years. A universal system for games wouldn’t just be convenient — it would build trust in digital purchases and take a major step toward solving the long-term problem of digital preservation.
It may never happen without strong consumer demand or even regulatory pressure, but the blueprint is there. And if Movies Anywhere can pull it off in the cutthroat world of Hollywood, maybe the gaming industry can take a cue and make Games Anywhere a reality.
Thank you for reading! If you’ve enjoyed this reflection, I invite you to support my Extra Life fundraising campaign, where I combine my love of gaming with helping kids in need. You can learn more or donate here:
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— Prof. Rock
I feel like GeForce Now is probably as close to this as its going to get; yeah the titles aren't running natively but there's a GFN client for everything from iPhones to Steam Deck to TVs.
I feel like this model/system is inevitable, but it will be quite the fight to get there, with Nintendo being the last hold out because, of course they would be.
Thoughtful post! Thanks for sharing!