I know I'll have no problem adapting to whatever works, but I'm more concerned in the interest of Sega and Microsoft. If this game does launch first on Windows Store do you think it will just update the current launcher or will they require that we download a newer one? Considering how badly that went earlier this year, I doubt they would want to scare away yet another wave of potential users.
According to the following, PSO2 and NGS will be in the same client, NGS is pretty much a new game inside the current game.
https://pso2.com/news/announcements/pso2ngsinformation
Q: How does the system allow you to move between the worlds of PSO2 and PSO2:NGS using the same account?
A: The worlds of PSO2 and PSO2:NGS will coexist in a single game. After logging in to the game, we plan to have a feature similar to the current PSO2 block movement feature, which allows players to move between each world.
@Ezodagrom Right, what I mean is that I wonder if they'll just update the current launcher or make a new one even for classic PSO2. Isn't this one dated and is prone to cause problems?
@Merelambasted Ah, no idea about that.
On the JP version the launcher has been updated multiple times throughout the past 8 years (mostly UI/layout updates on each episodes), so it's very likely it'll get another UI update for NGS, but its basic functionalities haven't really changed much (for example, the lengthy file check the launcher does when there's an update hasn't really changed much since the initial 2012 release).
@Merelambasted , to add onto what @Ezodagrom had to say... compare the Launcher when the game first launched in Japan:
To the original EPISODE 4 launcher:
To one of the newer launchers:
Since our version uses the latest client (EPISODE 6, the launcher depicted in that second image), our launcher is simply the same one but with some functionalities removed and the image at the top changed to represent the latest EPISODE.
So to answer the question... given how each major update in the Japanese version updates the launcher, NGS will do the same.
@Merelambasted Microsoft aren't the ones running PSO2 Global, the dev team behind the Japanese version are. Also reading the first post, I realized something I didn't answer...
the launcher technically updates itself (it would not be updated through the Steam or the Windows Store). Basically when NGS launches you would open the PSO2 launcher and one of the first patches would update the launcher itself much like how the launcher's gonna update itself once EP 5 launches (to change teh launcher's banner image).
That said, given that for cross platform multiplayer all versions need to be in sync and that NGS is an actual update to PSO2, its highly unlikely that it would launch exclusively on the MS Store. Were it a separate game, maybe but its been announced that New Genesis is just a massive overhaul to the existing PSO2 client.
@Leonkh99 I know they aren't running it, but there is something about the way the Windows Store stores files that made PSO2 nuke itself. Considering it runs fine on Steam, the issue seems to be with Microsoft. If Microsoft wants to incentivize players to play PSO2:New Genesis through their store and by extension game pass, they could have another mess on their hands. It makes me wonder if they would try making a new launcher or fix whatever causes the original launcher to delete the game. Either they are going to say "Download at the Windows Store!" then risk pissing off any newcomers when it inevitably bricks (which happened to me twice and my wife once), or they are going to say "No, don't come here, go to Steam where it works". The latter just doesn't sound business Savvy. They need to address the issue somehow.
@Merelambasted said in What are the chances that it will use the current launcher?:
@Leonkh99 I know they aren't running it, but there is something about the way the Windows Store stores files that made PSO2 nuke itself. Considering it runs fine on Steam, the issue seems to be with Microsoft. If Microsoft wants to incentivize players to play PSO2:New Genesis through their store and by extension game pass, they could have another mess on their hands. It makes me wonder if they would try making a new launcher or fix whatever causes the original launcher to delete the game. Either they are going to say "Download at the Windows Store!" then risk pissing off any newcomers when it inevitably bricks (which happened to me twice and my wife once), or they are going to say "No, don't come here, go to Steam where it works". The latter just doesn't sound business Savvy. They need to address the issue somehow.
MS Store does this to way more games than just PSO2. Most just don't buy games on MS Store or play many if at all there, so it isn't well known. They would have to completely fix their own OS problems to fix the problem of games n"uking themselves". Since it has been about 3 years now with no fixes for MS Store issues, it is doubtful to ever get fixed at this point. The problem only affects Windows 10, also, with XBOX one being fine about games from MS Store (Windows 10 and XBOX One use the exact same game store). They would likely having to re-think the entire OS, which they have no plans to do.
@Ragnawind I see, thanks for the answers, I wasn't looking for a solution for myself, just in Microsoft/Sega's interest because I want the franchise to do well. I've gotten all the answers I can get, there isn't much room for speculation anymore.
I'd like to add onto this... while it is true that the awkward structure i'm about to explain is the result of Sega having a Launcher + Client, loads of other games also have this model though rarely do these kind of games release on the Microsoft / Xbox Store. Now, with all due respect, the MS Store (especially its much better upgrade, the Xbox Store) suffers moreso from "good ideas with bad implementations" and does technically work well with certain kind of games... namely standalone games and if say... you aren't interested in the modding scene.
Now the issue with PSO2 is that the MS Store is designed around having updates be done through their platform, not through a launcher, however due to player demand Microsoft mod support had been implemented via a folder known as "Modifiable Windows Apps" which doesn't have the same restrictions as the regular Windows Apps folder. The PSO2 Team essentially used this as a wordaround, the base game (which includes the launcher) is installed through the store while the REST of the game is installed into the "Mod" folder which behaves more like a regular Windows folder compared to the 'protected' Windows Apps folder.
Ultimately the issues PSO2 on the MS Store faces tend to come when you install the game on a drive other than 
. Whenever your computer restarts the MS Store checks to make sure your games are installed correctly but this check happens fast enough that the other drives on your computer might not even have started. This and bugs concerning where the app manifest expects the game to be installed and its pretty clear that the Microsoft Store version of the game was tested under a very specific environment with things like multiple drives not being taken into account.
The launcher has its issues... but the issues that are directly linked to the way the launcher functions are the same kind of issues that the JP version has (e.g how it has to scan every file prior to patching the game... a file at a time, how the launcher will not wok with IPV6 sometimes, etc). Most of the issues specific to the MS Store version are ultimately... the result of the way the game is configured and how the Store itself works.