All Future Microsoft-Published Games Are Coming to Console and PC [UPDATE]
Microsoft clarifies it only meant the games it showed at E3.
Update: Microsoft's blog post has been updated to narrow the scope of what it promised will support Xbox Play Anywhere. It now states, "Every new title published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store." Limiting this to games shown at E3 suggests future Microsoft Studios games--say, Halo 6--won't necessarily come to PC.
Original Story: All future games published by Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere, meaning they will be available across console and PC.
Though it may not be much of a surprise, Microsoft confirmed this in a blog post detailing the new Anniversary update coming to Xbox One and PC. Here is the exact wording: "Every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store."
Xbox Play Anywhere allows you to buy a game (digitally) on Xbox One and get the PC version free or vice versa. Additionally, your progress moves with you between platforms, including game saves and achievements. In addition to releasing PC games on the Windows Store, Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently pledged that Microsoft will put games on Steam again.
The feature, which was announced at E3 last month, kicks off in September this year with the launch of Mega Man designer Keiji Inafune's ReCore. Other 2016 games that make use of Xbox Play Anywhere include Forza Horizon 3 (September 27) and Gears of War 4 (October 11).
You can check out this post to see a rundown of all the Play Anywhere games announced so far.
Halo fans may be especially happy about this news, as it would seem to confirm that Halo 6 will come to PC. In September 2015, Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor talked about Halo 6, or whatever it will be called, saying it's undergoing "serious, real planning." Later that year, O'Connor teased that Halo 6 could include split-screen co-op. 2015's Halo 5: Guardians did not include this, and the blowback was "huge," he said.
The Halo franchise is already making its way to PC. Microsoft will release Halo 5's free Forge tools on Windows 10, while 343 Industries studio head Josh Holmes teased that this is "just the beginning" for Halo's presence on PC.
In related news, Sony recently suggested it has no plans to introduce any kind of program that would unify PlayStation and PC games.
"I always hesitate to be drawn into discussions of someone else's strategy," PlayStation president Andrew House recently said. "I'm more than happy to talk about our own strategy. Yes, there was a big emphasis from the folks at Microsoft on Xbox and PC cross-play. It remains to be seen whether there is latent large consumer demand for that."
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