[lxgr]

> demand indefinite compatibility.

Not infinite – long enough for the game to bring in most revenue is enough.

Who cares that it stops running one or two Windows updates later for totally avoidable reasons? Definitely not the publisher. (In fact, isn't it about time for an HD remaster again?)

[quotemstr]

Microsoft cares, though, because if a game stops working when you upgrade Windows, you blame the Windows upgrade, not Microsoft. So now Microsoft has to maintain these legacy system calls even though they never signed up to do that.

[ronsor]

Microsoft does not. This is the one area where they don't compromise: system call numbers regularly change between Windows builds.