Microsoft is pushing further on questionable features for its Edge browser. A canary build of Edge shows a special games button next to the address bar that, while appearing optional, raises questions about Microsoft’s priorities.
Microsoft is choosing a strange development path for its Edge browser. A canary build (very early version for testers and developers) shows that the software giant is working on a game button. That button will sit next to the address bar and be a shortcut to HTML5 games. This was discovered by a user on Reddit. For now, the button is not enabled as a default, though that is presumably Microsoft’s long-term ambition. We suspect that an embedded shortcut for HTML5 solitaire is not aimed at techies who want to crawl into the browser’s settings to activate it.
Dangerous signal
In itself, the planned addition is not a disaster, but in context it does set off some alarm bells. Microsoft seems determined to inflate its however excellent Edge browser into an unwieldy case bursting with unsolicited features. For example, Redmond recently announced that Edge would offer quick loans in the U.S. via Zip integration. Furthermore, Microsoft chooses not to rely on the strengths of its own browser, instead scaring people with silly pop-ups when they want to download competitor Google Chrome. Then again, in Windows 11, the company intentionally made it very difficult to customize default browser settings, although that functionality was restored after loud criticism.
Microsoft introduced a version of Edge based on its own browser engine with Windows 10, but it did not meet with enthusiasm. Two years ago, therefore, the company launched a completely reworked version of Edge on the Chromium engine, and with success. The new version of Edge is the standard today, and it combines compatibility with Chromium (and associated extensions) with convenient integration with Windows. In addition, Edge has some useful features such as collections on board. Gaining market share, however, seems difficult. According to Statcounter, Edge is the though the second most popular browser in Windows, but its market share remains limited to about four percent.
Perception problem
Users still often have the reflex to switch to Chrome as the first move on a new computer. There are several reasons for this. Internet Explorer was a drama and the first version of Edge was also lackluster, which is bad for perception. Furthermore, Edge uses the Bing search engine by default, which still displays less targeted results compared to Google. Still, Edge is (for now) at least on par with Google Chrome.
That equivalence will be short-lived when Microsoft extends the browser with useless functionality. Optional extensions exist for such things. For most people, a browser should be a clear fast and efficient window to the Internet. Embedded loans and prominence to proprietary games are not part of that. Hopefully Microsoft will find focus again soon.