Microsoft tried to bring multiplayer cross platform gaming to the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista in 2007 with Games for Windows Live, but only a handful of games decided to take advantage of that feature. With Games For Windows Live reportedly shutting down completely in 2014, Microsoft is moving on with both its Xbox One game console as well as Xbox branded games made for Windows 8.

Since the Xbox One has a version of Windows 8 running on its system for apps, it stands to reason there could also be cross-platform gaming for Xbox One and Windows 8 at some point. In a new interview with AusGamers, Microsoft Games Studios head Phil Spencer was asked about that possibility and he stated, "I’m not allowed to leak things" and then reportedly smiled.

Spencer then expanded on that statement, saying that Microsoft has experimented with connecting Windows 8 games to consoles at some level, such as Halo: Spartan Assault, where playing the game on Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 can unlock some content in Halo 4 for the Xbox 360. He added:

This connected ecosystem across all the different devices is definitely where I think the future of gaming is going; you don’t have to do it as a developer, but you have the capability and I think a system like Xbox Live across all those screens where you know who someone is and who their friends are, what their Achievements are and their progression is really critical to that.

It sounds like Microsoft will be adding at least some kind of cross-platform support for Xbox One and Windows 8 games at some point. The big questions are when it will happen and how deep will that connection actually get.

Posted: Oct 09, 2013 3:18 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-exec-seems-to-hint-at-future-xbox-one-windows-8-cross-platform-support