This summer, Microsoft is aiming to bring Windows 10 apps the Xbox One, and it is attempting to get developers onboard. The company will release more information at Build this month, and we'll be tuning in live for more information.
The announcement was made by Microsoft's Jason Ronald at the Games Developers Conference earlier. It is the first time the company gave a specific date for Windows 10 apps coming to Xbox One. What we need to know now is how it will actually work and if the Xbox One will gain access to the Windows Store.
According to a report from the Business Insider, the software giant is planning to gradually make several apps available throughout the rest of 2016. We have no idea which apps will come, but we're guessing the company will launch apps that are more fitting to be used on Xbox One.
This move is also part of Microsoft's universal app strategy, and the company's aim to make game development easier for Xbox One. In the future, game developer should be able to create a single app that will run on all Windows 10 devices, and the Xbox One is part of that.
It is clear that the Xbox One is not a smartphone, a tablet, or a PC, so apps will be very different. It will be up to Microsoft to ensure quality over quantity, and make sure that each app is good enough to be used with a controller.
Tim Sweeney, a developer from Epic Games, has criticized this approach by Microsoft. He calls it a walled garden and that developers must not support it. Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, says this is not so. He also said Microsoft will share more information at Build 2016.
Time will tell if the universal app platform is an open-ecosystem, or if Microsoft should stick it out with Win32 apps. Interestingly enough, former Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, is no fan of the universal app platform and believes Microsoft should adopt Android apps instead.
When it comes down to gaming, we do not see that happening, so maybe this is the software giant's best bet for now.