Microsoft announced Thursday that it will return more of its PC sales to developers, raising their share of game sales from 70% to 88%. This means that Microsoft's share of Windows Xbox app and Microsoft Store sales will now be 12%, comparable to the Epic Games Store. more from sales on the Xbox app and Epic Games Store than on Steam. The company is now able to do so. But Microsoft's changes create a strange disparity between the PC and console ecosystems, with "Play Anywhere" games subject to two rules.

For consumers, it makes no difference whether they buy Play Anywhere games on PC or Xbox, but publishers will receive a different share of revenue depending on where they click the buy button, Microsoft confirmed to PC Gamer.

Some background: in 2016, just as Microsoft was beginning to focus heavily on PC gaming again, the company introduced its Play Anywhere program. Save files, DLC, and achievements would carry over; Play Anywhere was a nice perk for Xbox owners, but it had one major drawback: the Microsoft Store on PC. Microsoft's infamous UWP framework caused many problems for the game.

For those who like to switch between Xbox and PC with PlayAnywhere games, nothing has changed. For developers, however, the situation is a bit more complicated.

"Xbox Play Anywhere games purchased on the PC Storefront are eligible for the 88/12 revenue share for PC games. Xbox Play Anywhere games purchased on consoles will be subject to the revenue share rate applicable to consoles," Microsoft said in a statement.

In other words, Yakuza: If you purchase a Play Anywhere game like Like a Dragon on PC, Sega will receive 88% of the sale; if you purchase it on Xbox, Sega will receive 88% of the sale. Microsoft did not explicitly say, but like most other digital stores, such as Apple's App Store (for developers making over $1 million a year) and Sony's PlayStation Network, Microsoft always takes a 30% cut of sales. Perhaps Microsoft deals with certain publishers for a smaller revenue share, but 30% is the norm.

According to Microsoft's website, there are currently only 171 games participating in the Play Anywhere program, many of which are published by Microsoft. But that's important for quite a few indie games like "The Darkside Detective," which was just added this month: $9.09 (70%) vs. $11.43 (88%) is only a few dollars, but it adds up. If I were an indie developer participating in the Play Anywhere program, I would encourage my fans to purchase my game using a PC, even if it makes no difference to the player in the end.

It seems inevitable that something like Play Anywhere will occasionally create strange conflicts, especially with a company as large as Microsoft. As much as Microsoft is trying to make "Xbox" a brand name that applies to both consoles and PCs, there are still small inconsistencies that remind us that the two still work independently. Until just this month, Xbox console players had to pay for Xbox Live Gold to play free-to-play games like "Fortnite"; Xbox Game Pass is available for both console and PC, but the selection of games is different.

If Microsoft wants to have one ecosystem, it makes little sense to have different revenue sharing on devices that actually sell the exact same games. For now, at least, it means that developers may get a larger share.