Considering that the web platform is also an offline application platform an major operation system vendor (MS, Apple, Google) cannot afford to stay out of that game.

That ignores that - for at least the last 16 years - Windows has exposed a WebBrowser control which developers can use in their applications. MS could potentially remove the IE icon and some of the UI, but removing the core browser component and rendering code would break third-party applications, and Microsoft has historically been extremely unwilling to do that.

Unwillingly is an understatement. They are adamant on doing backward compatibility. Just ask Raymond Chen

Yep, I agree.

That sounds totally radical when you first hear it but it actually makes total sense to me. I guess they're just trying to avoid technological domination by Google. Right now they still have a player in the game thanks to Edge. If they were to lose that player Google would be able to make technological choices that might be harmful to Microsoft?

@smartsystems

The browser was about garnering mind-share™, making sure you see ‘Microsoft Internet Explorer’ when you boot up the computer. That why some people used talk about getting on to the ‘Microsoft Internet’ presumably using the Microsoft TCP/IP © :]

Good point, maybe they aren’t ready to rip off the bandaid and/or don’t have enough confidence in Mozilla to prevent the domination you mention.