Microsoft will be hosting a panel at GDC this year where they will discuss the future of Xbox One games development for Windows 10. As the two formerly discrete platforms become closer and closer over time, sharing a lot of their features and services, and increasingly, games as well, Microsoft plans to create one unified game development platform that covers basically everything- consoles, phones, tablets, PCs, and everything else, with Windows and Xbox Live at the core of it all.
“Windows and Team Xbox talked at GDC in 2015 about how we were building the world’s most accessible and powerful game development platform that spans across consoles, PC, tablets, phones, and more,” the panel description reads. “Come join us in 2016 to see how we are delivering on our vision & are empowering game developers to reach billions of customers around the world, connected through the power of Xbox Live and our Universal Store, plus a host of new platform innovations for games in every genre.”
The heart of this all is going to be Xbox Live, which Microsoft claims will bring gamers together, regardless of the device. In a separate panel, Microsoft will be sharing their vision for this future. “Xbox Live connects hundreds of millions of gamers around the world, as part of the largest social multiplayer network ever,” the description for this panel reads. “With Windows 10, we have brought the magic of Xbox to break down the walls between consoles and PCs, expanding the ways that players can interact both in and outside of games. Whether you build for console, PCs, tablets, phones, or HoloLens devices, Xbox Live has features that can add fun and drive player engagement in your game.
It sounds like an exciting cross platform synergy and strategy, and yet one that will still have the Xbox at its very center. I can’t wait to see what Microsoft’s vision for the future of gaming is.
