Give Phil Spencer credit, when he hears an idea he likes, he’s not afraid to say he likes it. You also have to give him credit because he doesn’t really beat around the bush when something might sound like a good idea but isn’t anywhere near the top of his agenda. Such is the case with the potential of inserting background music for the Xbox One.
Spencer was asked about the feature on Twitter and he responded, “This one is just a prioritization thing with other work. We like the feature.” He added that getting that particular feature is something that is on their long list of todo’s, they just haven’t moved it up the list near the top just yet. This is hardly the first time background music has been brought up at Microsoft.
Spencer said at the end of May that a background music feature won’t be coming until after the company has finished its integration between the Xbox One and Windows 10. There isn’t an official date for that, though it’s expected to be officially done in the coming weeks. There is a way that players can listen to music while playing a game right now, if they’re willing to use the snap feature. The problem with that workaround is that the player still takes up a portion of the screen, which makes it less than an ideal situation. There is clearly a desire for background music among the community as more than 20,000 gamers have ranked it as something they would like to see come to the Xbox One.