Remember when Microsoft was teasing that developers might be able to run Windows 8 games on the Xbox One due to the similarities in their interfaces? Well it turns out that it’s very much a possibility and requires very little extra work, according to Naoyuki Isogai, who is the Director of Xbox Marketing Group in Microsoft Japan.
Speaking to Game Revolution about the ability to turn any Xbox One into a development kit and about how big this would be for Japanese developers, Isogai stated, “Yep, I think it will be pretty big. This is a new system that will attract Japanese independent developers. Because, as I said, users can put something different than games on the right hand side of the screen, and this area not only gaming or video or music, but wide variety of apps could be posted in here. So they can try new things with Xbox One.
“And the apps posted in here are not only here, but could be expanded to full screen as well. It’s using Windows, so the development technology used for that is about the same as Windows 8. Windows apps are basically developed in what’s called Visual Studio. Furthermore, if anyone develops a game for Windows 8, they can take that game with almost the exact same code, to the Xbox One. It’s up to the developer if they want to or not.
When asked the follow-up question if a developer could really create something for Windows 8 and get it running on Xbox One using almost the same code, Isogai responded, “Yeah, almost the same code.”
Given the relatively larger selection of apps across Windows 8, this would give the Xbox One an even bigger edge in the casual market, something aided further by the use of Kinect and other multimedia functions. In fact, if developers create games for Windows 8, it will take virtually nothing to port said titles over to the Xbox One (like Halo Spartan Assault, for example). Will it help push the Xbox One past the PS4 when both consoles release this November? Stay tuned.