Getting Games for Windows Live to work with Windows 8

When I upgraded to Windows 8, I had issues upon starting known Games for Windows LIVE games, the overlay would not start. Therefore, effectively locking me out of my games by not being able to access my (online) profile. The game saves were still on my system that I copied over, but due to some incompatibilities with GFWL and Windows 8, would not allow me to play them.

This is a way I was able to fix GFWL on Windows 8 (Pro). It may or may not work for you, so don’t take this as the definitive fix:

1. Uninstall all instances of Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace and Microsoft Games for Windows – LIVE Redistributable
2. Download the “Games for Windows Marketplace Client” from here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/LIVE/PC/DownloadClient
3. Reboot your computer
4. Right-click the gfwlivesetup.exe you downloaded earlier, select Properties and go to the Compatability tab
5. Set Compatibility for Windows 7 and press OK
6. Right-click the EXE and select “Run as Administrator”
7. Now install as normal
8. Start a Games for Windows LIVE game (i.e. DiRT 3, Batman: Arkham City, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition)
9. Now the GFWL overlay should be present
10. You may need to re-download your profile, so input your credentials and then you’ll have access to your saves again!

Please note if any of these steps are followed incorrectly, the overlay will not appear and you will have to start all over.

If you have this issue, and it works, please let me know in the comments below. Also, please share with anyone you think would benefit from this. Hopefully Microsoft, even though their focus is on the “Xbox” brand, can update the GFWL service to work on Windows 8 proper without these steps. But, until then you have this guide.