Xbox Live mobile support has been announced by Microsoft. The company revealed it would be launching a cross-platform mobile software development kit (SDK) for iPhone and Android devices. This SDK would enable any mobile developer to include Xbox Live features within its games. Achievements, gamerscore, friends, and clubs will all be available for inclusion.
Microsoft announced its intentions to expand its services to multiple platforms during a press briefing. Kareen Choudhry, Microsoft CVP of gaming cloud services, explained the company’s decision: “We believe so strongly in community, and Xbox Live really being at the heart of our gaming community … If you watch what we’ve done, especially with Minecraft, over the past few years we’ve taken Xbox Live to as many platforms as Minecraft is on as possible. Really uniting all those communities together with a consistent singular experience for those gamers.” Microsoft has promoted cross-play significantly over the last couple of years and clashed with Sony over its initial reluctance to embrace it.
Microsoft doesn’t appear to be stopping with Xbox Live mobile support, however. In the media briefing, Choudhry spoke on the prospect of Xbox Live on other gaming platforms: “Our goal is to really unite the 2 billion gamers of the world and we’re big fans of our Xbox Live community, but we don’t have any specific announcements as it relates to Switch today.”
When asked about Xbox Live being available on Sony’s PlayStation 4, Choudhry responded: “Phil [Spencer] has been very proactive on issues like crossplay, cross-progression, and uniting gamer networks, and we’re willing to partner with the industry as much as we possibly can.”
Rumors emerged about Xbox Live heading to platforms outside of Microsoft last month. The move continues Microsoft and Xbox Games Studios’ transition towards a digital future. Last week, it was rumored the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition would be headed onto store shelves in May. The Xbox One S model wouldn’t feature a disc drive, meaning players would need to purchase individual digital copies or an Xbox Game Pass subscription. The all-digital current-gen console emerged after reports that Xbox would be releasing two next-gen consoles in 2020, with early reports suggesting one of those would also be all-digital. The next-gen line is currently referred to as Xbox Scarlett with codenames “Anaconda” representing the disc drive model and “Lockhart” the name of the disc-less version.
[via The Verge]
