UK Games for Windows Live to launch on May 18

Microsoft has announced the May 18 launch of Games for Windows Live in the UK - ten days later than North America.

UK PC gamers will have to wait ten days longer than North American gamers to begin playing Halo 2 Vista using Games for Windows Live. Microsoft has announced that the PC version of Live will launch in the UK on May 18, ten days later than in the US.

The service will be joined on the same day by Halo 2 Vista (May 8 in North America), and will be the first game to utilise the new service, though won't feature cross-platform multiplayer. It's also been confirmed that a Gold subscription will cost £39.99 for a year, with the Silver option being free. You'll need a Gold account if you want to play cross-platform multiplayer, with Silver allowing free PC to PC play.

Cross-platform multiplayer won't arrive until June when Microsoft Game Studios' Shadowrun hits PC and Xbox 360.

Check out our earlier report for full details on Microsoft's Games for Windows Live service.