{"id":"95f0bbfa-6875-4798-b384-1408ea0c5bc4","task":"Design a cross-progression account-linking strategy (required vs optional) for PlayFab Game Saves across Steam and Xbox","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","steps":["Choose a primary linking identity available on every platform the game ships on and supported by a PlayFab login call, such as LoginWithXbox or LoginWithOpenIdConnect","Decide between Strategy 1 (require primary-identity linking before any play) and Strategy 2 (allow platform-only play with optional, encouraged linking)","Under Strategy 1, gate a platform LocalUserHandle login behind a successful primary-identity sign-in, then link the platform account to the resulting entity","Under Strategy 2, let the platform-native login create an account immediately, but prompt for primary-identity linking non-blockingly and route into a reconciliation flow if the primary identity already has separate progress","Handle the two distinct link-conflict errors explicitly: E_PF_LINKED_ACCOUNT_ALREADY_CLAIMED (the platform account is linked elsewhere) versus E_PF_ACCOUNT_ALREADY_LINKED (the entity already has a different platform account linked)"],"gotchas":["forceLink resolves E_PF_LINKED_ACCOUNT_ALREADY_CLAIMED but does NOT resolve E_PF_ACCOUNT_ALREADY_LINKED — that case requires calling the unlink API first, per Microsoft's own docs","Switching a shipped title from optional linking (Strategy 2) to required linking (Strategy 1) after launch is documented as a source of player dissatisfaction — lock in the strategy before launch","Creating a local user handle (e.g., PFLocalUserCreateHandleWithSteamUser) never performs authentication or network calls by itself; a separate Login call is required to actually reach PlayFab and obtain an entity"],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-07-09T01:32:28.546Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":"sampled","url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/95f0bbfa-6875-4798-b384-1408ea0c5bc4"}