Microsoft to reboot Games for Windows Marketplace next month

Microsoft's is to reboot Games for Windows Marketplace next month following this week's news that Apple is to launch a Mac-based App Store.

Group product manager Peter Orullian told Joystiq the revamped GfWM service will be getting a title for pre-order "you may care about" on day one of its new effort.

Other new features will be included, such as a ratings system, other pre-order incentives and more, including a GFW version of Deal of the Week, which has been seen on Xbox 360 for a while now.

"Today you go on, and we have a website that talks about games, then we have a client," said Orullian.

"Feedback we heard is that's not always the easiest experience, so we're bringing the transaction component right to the web. The client will still exist, but it'll exist to manage really really large files that aren't maybe so easily managed through the web, and it'll be your transaction history; so if you need to re-download a game, you can go and do that.

"But it's not going to be necessary to go and look at and buy games."

The news comes after Apple announced earlier this week it would launch a Mac-native App Store, which works in the same way it does for other iDevices such as iPhone and iPod Touch, including one-click downloads, automatic updates and installs as well as running at full-screen.

There's more about the GfWM reboot at the link.