Xbox head Phil Spencer is at GDC today to give a talk on the future
of gaming and game development on the Windows and Xbox platforms.It’s an interesting time for Microsoft’s gaming division. Windows 10 will bring unprecedented integration with the Xbox platform, letting yo
u stream games running on Xbox One hardware to any PC. Meanwhile. the Xbox One is currently in second place in the current generation of consoles, though slashed prices seemed to boost demand toward the end of 2014. And with HoloLens on the way, Microsoft might become an early power-player in the VR/AR gaming ecosystem.
We’re here at the talk, and will update this post as Spencer provides interesting tidbits.
Kyle Russell
14 hours ago
Hopefully the DirectX 12 panel later today will have more new information.
Windows Store still seems like the weak link here — the selection
is nowhere close to comparable to Valve’s Steam store on the PC.
This has mostly been a recap of things Microsoft has discussed
before. They want to make it easier to make games for both (though
engines like Unity and Unreal are kind of doing most of the work for
them), and they’re looking to assure indie developers that Xbox likes
them just as much as PlayStation does.
I don’t know that people actually move between systems like that,
but maybe Microsoft thinks that having the option will encourage new
behavior.
Your Gigantic win/loss records and purchases will automatically
show up in the Windows and Xbox versions as you move between them.
Microsoft has indie studio Motiga on stage to show off Gigantic, a MOBA that plays like a third-person action game.
Oh hey, Microsoft is going to release an adapter to use the Xbox One controller wirelessly with your PC.
Indie games ended up filling in the early PlayStation 4/Vita
libraries, so it’s not a surprise to see Microsoft court developers who
aren’t making tentpole games.
Now we’re talking about ID@Xbox, Microsoft’s effort to get indie developers to make Xbox One games
With a shared controller design (if you can get PC gamers to use
them) and the continuous social experience, cross-platform development
between Windows 10 and Xbox seems to make a lot of sense for developers.
As expected, Spencer says the Microsoft games team sees HoloLens as
a full Windows 10 PC, but we won’t here more about game development on
it until the BUILD conference.
Now we’re watching a demo of cross-platform play between a Surface running Windows 10 and an Xbox One.
We got to see a bit of footage of Unreal Tournament running on DirectX 12.
Spencer says the upcoming DirectX 12 graphics API is improving CPU
performance by as much as 50% and GPU performance by 20% in testing with
partners.
There’s a new Xbox Live SDK available today for Windows game
developers to start integrating Xbox social features into their games.
Cross-buy has been a thing for PlayStation gamers for quite some
time, but there are far more Windows PCs out there than PlayStation
Vitas.
Gamers will be able to buy a title on a Windows 10 device and play on their Xbox without two purchases.
Spencer is talking about the Windows Store.