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Xbox Live Confirmed For Windows 8
Microsoft is eager to expand its Xbox Live service beyond the console space, as demonstrated by its integration with Windows Phone 7, and it looks like that strategy is going to expand even further next year. Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox Live is coming to PCs next year, when the new Windows 8 operating system launches.
"Bringing Xbox Live to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy," wrote Microsoft's Larry Hryb on his Major Nelson blog. "At BUILD we are showing that it is easy for developers to create games for Windows 8 that take advantage of the power of Xbox Live. We have much more detail to share about the capabilities of Xbox Live on Windows and look forward to the opportunity to do so in the near future."
In other words, Microsoft says Xbox Live is super great. Surprise!
It'll be interesting to see just how deep the integration runs between the various platforms. Rumors that PC players will be able to play Xbox 360 games on their PCs seem ridiculously optimistic. At the same time, Xbox Live subscribers can already customize their avatars, chat with their Xbox Live brethren, and access their download queue on PCs via Xbox.com. If this move simply took that level of interaction and plopped it onto the OS itself, it would be a bit underwhelming. At this point, we'll have to wait and see what's in store for PC users on the Xbox Live front.
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