With Microsoft hoping to bring cross-platform gaming across multiple gaming devices with the launch of Windows 10, Xbox boss Phil Spencer shared some of the companies ideas about how the shared gaming experience could be handled between the Xbox One and PC platforms. In an interview with Eurogamer following GDC, Spencer spoke about the importance that Microsoft is placing on the upcoming ability to be able to play games like Minecraft across different systems.
Spencer admitted that this cross-platform emphasis on gaming with the new Windows 10 was fundamental in Microsoft’s decision to purchase Mojang, the creators of Minecraft . Owning the insanely popular sandbox creation title will help Microsoft promote the cross-platform potential of Windows 10 by using Minecraft as somewhat of a flagship title to showcase the multi-platform playability of Windows 10. Spencer commented that the function to play Minecraft across various screens has been one of the key drives of the gaming design behind Windows 10 throughout the past year.
“It’s been, what, 11 months since I came on board as the head of Xbox and try and get refocused on that game vision, showing both the company and ourselves what’s going on in PC and the huge communities that are there and the opportunities for us on what’s going on this screen and on this screen in a first-class, first party way, it’s a unique opportunity for us that we can step into.”
The Xbox boss felt that few titles could so easily show off the need for cross-platform play as Minecraft . Given the popularity of Mojang’s original PC version of the game, combined with the successful console ports from 4J Studios, Minecraft has managed to fully mesmerize gamers across several platforms. As Geek Wire pointed out, this will makes Minecraft an ideal candidate for streaming the game to either the Xbox One or PC.
“It’s something we’ve built out over the summer, and that’s why Minecraft made sense — it’s a viral thing across so many screens, and it’s a conduit for us to learn about what does it mean when people touch your service across all these different screens and what do they expect — it’s something that’s come together over the last year.”
Microsoft had other reasons to purchase Minecraft, too. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , the game has gone on to become the most played title over Xbox Live since it first released on the Xbox 360 in 2012. The console versions of Minecraft have also now broken several video game-specific records from the Guinness Book of World Records .
Are you excited by the prospect of playing Minecraft from either the Xbox One or PC using the cross-platform capabilities of Windows 10?
[Images via Mojang ]
