Xbox One Windows 8 App Compatibility Hinted By Microsoft

While it's been mostly about the games for the Xbox One lately (thanks to a huge showing recently from Microsoft at E3), the company briefly discussed the relationship between Windows 8 and the Xbox One at their yearly Build conference in San Francisco. Microsoft provided hints that the Xbox One could run Windows 8 apps, thanks to the console's architecture.

Steve Guggenheimer, vice president of Microsoft's Developer and Platform Evangelism group, said that the "Xbox One has two engines; it's got a gaming engine and it essentially has a Windows 8 engine." We've known since the console's reveal that the Xbox One runs on a Windows kernel, but we weren't sure how much the console relied on the Windows 8 architecture.

It seems like the relationship between the two platforms is greater than we originally thought. The company didn't announced anything per se, but they did provide hints at what possibly is to come for the future. Guggenheimer said that "if you want to know about how to get a head start about thinking about developing for Xbox One, the logical thing to do is go build Windows 8 applications."

However, if Microsoft does announced support for Windows 8 app on the Xbox One, there could just be one problem. The company doesn't allow developers to self-publish on the new console, and they must seek a publisher instead. However, it's possible Microsoft could make an exception for Windows 8 apps, as it's a different industry than video games.

If Microsoft allows Windows 8 apps to run on the Xbox One, that could change how we look at the new console as a entertainment device. There are already a lot of apps for the Xbox platform, but bringing over even more apps from Windows 8 could open so many doors for both developers and Xbox One owners. We'll have to wait and see what Microsoft does in the near future with this.

VIA: GamesIndustry.biz

SOURCE: The Verge