Xbox One Kinect Not Dead? Microsoft Hiring For ‘Top-Secret’ Project
The launch of the Xbox One was hampered by the added cost of the mandatory Kinect sensor. This was as much a reason for the console’s slow start as several other issues ranging from poor perception to a lack of big exclusives. New Xbox Head Phil Spencer turned things around starting with a $100 cheaper Kinect-less console that led many to believe that support for the device was done. A new Microsoft job posting suggests otherwise.
The Microsoft job posting for a Senior Software Engineer was spotted by Dual Shockers and reveals a new Agile team being formed within the Xbox division to handle risky projects and celebrates failure.
“A new team has formed in Microsoft’s Xbox division with a specific purpose: to push the envelope of today’s and tomorrow’s technology as we explore new ideas from the ground floor. It begins with veterans from Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and Kinect. But we’re growing as quickly as our imaginations can be translated into code.
“Joining this team comes with risks. Most of what we work on is top-secret; you may not know what your new project is until you’ve accepted an offer. Not all of our ideas will fly. We will fail, and fail fast, on some projects. We will celebrate those failures because they are vital to making sure the right ideas take off in a big way.”
Microsoft is looking for someone that has actually delivered a working application or product as well as side projects doing Kinect hacks or working on games or websites. Modern game engine experience (Unreal, CryEngine, or Unity) is also desired along with programming skills and an understanding of video game architecture, UI programming, and client web services/networking.
What does this person need all of this knowledge for?
“[I]f you’re passionate about the potential for Kinect to continue to revolutionize entertainment and are a seasoned software engineer with the skills to prototype and build the future of premium Kinect-powered experiences, we have a growing team of talented people who want to take entertainment into the future.
“In this role your technical skills and creativity will be pushed to their limits as you weave together disparate technologies to tell the story of what the future of entertainment will look like. You’ll learn more than you even knew existed about machine vision, data mining, AI, voice recognition, and embedded systems. You’ll become an expert in one or more of those areas. You will work on a truly agile team to build and iterate on prototypes to evolve and demonstrate our creative vision.”
Dance Central Spotlight and Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved were the last two Xbox One releases that made use of the Kinect sensor. There are a couple of indie developed games that will still use the device, but there appears to be little to no support from major developers and Microsoft is still freeing up console resources reserved for Kinect.
Can Microsoft revitalize the Kinect for Xbox One and make it useful and fun from a gameplay perspective? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Xbox]
