A man plays an Xbox One while waiting in line to buy an Xbox One from a Microsoft 'pop-up shop' at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle on Nov. 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/Andrew Burton)
Microsoft's new cross-platform feature, Xbox Play Anywhere, will go live on Sept. 13. This new program was announced at this year's E3.
Xbox Play Anywhere unlocks the Windows 10 version of a game when one buys the Xbox One version from the digital store. Similarly, when one buys the Windows 10 version of a new game, they will receive the Xbox One edition without having to pay anything extra, Polygon reported.
Although Microsoft already listed the launch titles supported by the service, the Redmond tech giant was somewhat unclear regarding the precise date when the service would go live. However, the company confirmed the date to the media this week.
The new cross-platform feature also saves the gamers' progress to a single file, tracks a solitary set of achievements and will not cost anything extra than a regular game. In other words, any DLC purchased by a customer will be playable on both systems, including game add-ons, season passes, consumables and in-game unlocks.
In order to avail the service, one needs to have the Windows 10 Anniversary Edition update on his PC, which will be released on Aug. 2, in addition to the summer update on his Xbox One console. However, the new program will only support the download version of the game and not the disc version.
A Microsoft spokesperson told the media outlet that the Windows 10 Anniversary Update as well as the related Xbox update will arrive this summer. This will enable the Windows Store on Windows 10 and Xbox One to support Xbox Play Anywhere games.
Microsoft will list all the games that support Xbox Play Anywhere on the official site and include a Play Anywhere icon in the online store. The existing list of titles include "Ark: Survival Evolved," "Cuphead,"
"Gears of War 4," "Killer Instinct Season 3," "State of Decay 2," "Forza Horizon 3," "ReCore," "Sea of Thieves," "Halo Wars 2," "Scalebound," "Crackdown 3," and "We Happy Few."
While Microsoft is unifying Xbox One and Windows 10, Sony recently revealed that it will not follow the same track. Sony Interactive Entertainment President Andrew House told investors that they do not see it as effecting or prompting any changes in their thought process and strategy, Express UK reported.
According to House, Sony has always been inclined to believe that a proprietary ecosystem offering a very well crafted unified client experience is the best strategy. "This continues to be our strategy," he added.
Watch the Xbox Play Anywhere announcement trailer below:
