Series X/S owners now have to pay for dev mode to reactivate emulation.
And surprise, wouldn't you know it, Nintendo strikes again.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/7/23674707/microsoft-xbox-emulators-ban-nintendo
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I have to wonder if Microsoft will expand this to the PC and mandate the blocking of exe/msi files that allow the installation and running of emulators on Windows via SmartScreen on exactly the same grounds as they have with the Series X/S? I can imagine that using them on Dev Mode without being an actual developer is living on borrowed time and Microsoft will go further - probably vastly increasing the cost of enabling Dev Mode to put off gamers only using it to run emulators but not enough to dissuade independent developers.
Emulators allow someone with a retro game collection to run their games on modern hardware with no additional money exchanging hands between the user, the hardware manufacturer and the IP. That's what the likes of Nintendo find offensive and wish to end once and for all. They want emulation but on their terms - where you pay again for software you already own on every single iteration of hardware they release and pay continuously for it behind a paywall and where they can revoke access whenever they like. Which they can't do with your cartridge, CD or console.
This move sets a dangerous precedent where Microsoft can come under pressure or just simply decide they can block whatever they like and say "our OS, our rules" despite holding an effective monopoly for PC/Laptop OS usage.
I don't think they'd try to extend this to PC, and they certainly shouldn't be permitted to do so. The PC ecosystem is built on the assumption that you can run arbitrary code; turning Windows into a walled garden is the level of anti-competitive behaviour that might literally start a war.
It will take longer, but the existence of Trusted Platform Module tells me that future roadmap for consumer electronics is for the hardware itself to be built to allow corporations to monitor and control what you can run on your machine.
Don't like it? Build your own microprocessor ;)
I hope they don't either but I suspect what they will do over time is introduce the Microsoft Store as the only way to install apps and programs in future. Which is in effect, a walled garden. They could argue that as Apple and Android do the same thing on their platforms, they should be allowed to do the same for "safety". Like with UEFI and Secure Boot on PC and custom ROMs on Android, they'll probably allow a way around it to reflect any anti-competition complaints but they will also make it both difficult and remove functionality for those who want to install programs from outside the store (such as what happens when Secure Boot is disabled).
Either way, Linux, BSD and other non-proprietary operating systems will still permit you the right to install whatever you like, even if they don't have the ability to defend themselves from any future legal action from the Big N. And at least with Proton, running games which don't rely exclusively on Windows is getting easier via Steam as time goes on, even if it isn't perfect at this time.
Sounds likely, when you literally power up a new OOBE Windows PC for the first time after bringing it home, you're locked into an S Mode where any third party non-WEP apps are blocked and you can ONLY use Edge, you have to dig deep to turn it off