Microsoft to outline Xbox LIVE Windows 8 support at BUILD

By Tom Warren, on 13th Sep 11 7:31 pm with 25 Comments

New Xbox LIVE dashboard user interface

Microsoft’s BUILD session is now live and it reveals an interesting look at Xbox LIVE integration in Windows 8.

The software giant currently ships Games for Windows LIVE for Windows 7 PCs which offers a large amount of Xbox LIVE features including messages, friends, players, private chat, personal settings and private chat. Microsoft appears to be extending its Xbox support in Windows 8. A BUILD session, which kicks off tomorrow, will detail how developers can build Xbox LIVE games for Windows 8:

“Xbox LIVE, Microsoft’s premier entertainment service, is coming to Windows 8. Whether you are developing a game or another kind of entertainment app for Windows 8, Xbox LIVE can help your app stand out in the crowd and help engage and delight users. You will learn about how to implement our well-loved features like Achievements, Multiplayer, Avatars and Community and brand new ones like roaming storage and profiles.”

Microsoft revealed in June that the company plans to integrate Xbox LIVE support in Windows 8 but it’s not present in the developer preview build and Microsoft employees didn’t mention or demonstrate the support in a press briefing on Monday or its keynote on Tuesday. Microsoft’s Larry Hryb (Major Nelson) confirmed the support in a blog post on Tuesday. “Xbox LIVE brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices,” said Hryb. He also confirmed that the company will show developers how to build Xbox LIVE games for Windows 8. “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,” said Hryb. The company is also working on a new dashboard interface that mirrors the Windows Phone and Windows 8 Metro style interface.

Thanks to Stephen Chapman for the tip.

  • Anonymous

    My question is, will windows 8 apps comes to xbox live?  I see that new “Apps” link, but NO ONE ever shows what is under it :)

    • Anonymous

      i think it will..

    • Anonymous

      the better question is if IE10 will be coming to the new Xbox Update…????

    • http://www.awesomeannie.com/ Sean M

      I would assume the “apps” tab on the new 360 dashboard is where things like Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, Hulu, ESPN, LastFM, etc will go. I don’t think it’ll be for Windows 8 apps.

    • Anonymous

      No they won’t. And I don’t see the point? Who wants to use Windows 8 apps on his Xbox? I mean they’re designed for touch…

    • Adam Lein

      The touch UI translates pretty easily to a controller-free “Kinect” UI…  have you tried “Fruit Ninja” on Xbox Kinect?

    • Anonymous

      Facebook, Twitter, Zune, Netflix and ESPN are probably under apps right now.

    • garfbradaz

      Thy are bringing silverlight development to Xbox, so I think we will see apps soon.

  • Anonymous

    Post PC my ASS!!!

  • http://www.jeffkibuule.com Jeff Kibuule

    I’m wondering if Microsoft will integrate a full store into Windows 8 (music, movies, TV shows, etc…) As has been said before, this was basically all about developers, and I suspect we’ll see Windows 8 in it’s full glory at CES with all of the consumer stuff announced.

    • Adam Lein

      I think it would be great if the Zune services were fully integrated with Windows 8.  I hope there are some Media Center related Live Tiles too, like “Recorded TV” or “Guide”.  And I hope that Start screen UI can be navigated with a remote control.  :)

    • http://www.timsmithmma.com Tim Smith

      I would be willing to bet that Zune services will be part of the XBOX Live services. One thing I’m interested in seeing is how Windows Phone will sync/update with Windows 8. The more out of the box integration the better. I already saw antivirus is built in, hopefully Zune or its replacement is as well.

  • Ali

    Err Its Just Games For Windows Live Rebranded. Why do you think the GFWL forums got merged with xbox.com!

    • FoodForThought

      Because overall, GFWL was a major failure, and the Xbox branding is immensely more popular. So I cant blame them for rebranding GFWL as Xbox PC. 

  • Joe

    I’d like to see Windows 8 have some sort of emulation support for Xbox 360 games, so that with say an “Xbox Certified PC” you can just insert your Xbox 360 game and it works in your PC, no installation or anything required. That would be true Xbox integration.

    • http://www.jeffkibuule.com Jeff Kibuule

      To do emulation well, you usually need about 5-10x power of the underlying system, and with 360 games being written in PowerPC, maybe even more. Though since they’re written with a DX9-style graphics library it may not require quite as much power.

      But regardless, why would they kill off any reason to buy an Xbox 360? I can however see XBOX Live Arcade games being available for both platforms with just a single purchase.

    • Anonymous

      not gonna happen you just told them dont buy an xbox
      not gonna happen

    • FoodForThought

      By the time this releases, they will most likely have already issued another price cut on the 360, plus it will be getting closer to the release of the next xbox, so I dont think it will be as important to them to try and continue to profit off the hardware. Since they mentioned the disc play feature, which will allow you to play 360 games on the PC, what they will probably try to do is extend sales on 360 games, since they make a cut on each one sold. Then they dont even have to worry about the hardware as much anymore, and still keep getting money.

  • garfbradaz

    Hi Tom,

    Will the Achievements and leaderboards be available to everyone using XNA or like Xbox Development (you need XDK) and Windows Phone, will the API s be closed off.

  • Spartansoulja

    I hope those dumb antitrust people wont kill MS over this :( Tom, how do you think this will unfold?

    • http://www.jeffkibuule.com Jeff Kibuule

      Anti-trust requires you to ABUSE your monopoly to hurt others, but you can still further your own platform. In other words, Microsoft would only get into trouble if for some very dumb reason, they blocked access to Steam because it’s a competitor for their own store (but that is NEVER going to happen).

    • Spartansoulja

      Oh ok I didnt know that :) But they got in trouble for integrating IE with windows so i was scared.. lol
      thats the last thing they need rii now

    • http://www.jeffkibuule.com Jeff Kibuule

      It’s not just bundling they were accused of, but manipulating APIs that gave their browser more performance than the competition. To major points were their “predatory behavior” and creating a “barrier to competition”. As long as Microsoft lets other people play in the sandbox with an equal opportunity, they can bundle apps all they want.

      Heck, even today, Microsoft has stated they are integrating Microsoft Security Essentials into Windows Defender and WIndows itself. It’s that abusing their monopoly? Fact of the matter is that OS security is a top priority and expecting a user to pay for software to protect their system is ludacris and should be done by the OS vendor themselves. AV companies may whine and complain, but they should very well know that they shouldn’t get a free ride if Microsoft secures their OS.

  • Zikalify

    If they can put Xbox live on win8 like they did with wp7 then I’ll be pleased.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ricardo-Dawkins/746307628 Ricardo Dawkins

    Look, iPad. You got no console. :-D