Xbox One Windows 10 Update, Gamescom Presence, And RTS Commented On By Xbox Head
Xbox Head Phil Spencer was a busy man on Twitter today answering fan questions about the Xbox One. While he suggested that the console will be adding mouse support soon in addition to the already existing keyboard support, he dropped a ton of informational nuggets on the progress of Windows 10 on the console — what games will and won’t be at Gamescom, and more.
Windows 10 is currently slated for a July 29 release to PC and tablets, but is supposed to be integrated into the Xbox One by the end of the year. Spencer wouldn’t give a date for the release when asked, but did say that the release is on schedule.
@UbiquitousDoom We are on track to deliver this, team is on schedule. You’ll hear more about the dates soon.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
The schedule for release is anybody’s guess, but Spencer did say that the Windows 10 update would hit the Xbox One “post-summer” in a Twitter post from May. If the update does go as past updates have, Preview Program members will see the Windows 10 update first followed by a full release a month to two months later.
The Windows 10 update for Xbox One is a complete redesign of the console’s user interface. You can check out a demo of it from E3 in the video below.
Spencer went on to answer several questions about Microsoft’s plans for Gamescom in Cologne, Germany starting August 3. He wouldn’t go into specifics, but did confirm that Quantum Break and Scalebound would be present along with the new Crackdown. Games that won’t be present include the just announced Sea of Thieves from Rare and ReCore from Keiji Inafune’s Comcept Studio in partnership with Armature Studios. He explained that the teams for both games put a lot of effort into E3 and couldn’t afford the time it would take for Gamescom.
@tgh9920 @PNF4LYFE Yea, SoT & Recore won’t be at GC, another demo so close to E3 is just tough on production. — Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
Not surprisingly, Phantom Dust will not make an appearance at Gamescom either. Xbox marketing guy Aaron Greenberg confirmed at E3 that development on the game was halted after Darkside Studios was dumped as the developer. It shouldn’t be surprising that the game will not make an appearance, but fans still asking about it shows how much carry the cult hit from the original Xbox still has.
The hope for an Xbox One real-time strategy game (RTS) on the Xbox One still appears to be far off, however. Spencer previously hinted at the possibility of a RTS game on the console, but appears to suggest that a studio isn’t even in the pre-design phases right now. If that’s the case, an RTS is more likely to show up streamed from a Windows 10 PC to the console versus being played on the console itself.
@PNF4LYFE Takes a great studio to make RTS on console work. Someone with RTS experience who wants to tackle controller.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
[Images via Xbox]
