In an interview with 4gamer, Agnes Kim, head of strategic markets for the Xbox platform at Microsoft, was asked about their strategy in the Asian market and indie developers active in the region.
In addition to Game Pass and working closely with developers in the region, Agnes says Xbox looks to expand its global markets through Xbox Play Anywhere.
“We believe that by continuing to expand Play Anywhere, we will be able to grow the ecosystem and reach more players.”
The idea is to push these other games to be played “anytime, anywhere, regardless of the platform.” However, Agnes Kim also said earlier in the interview, “We will not force this strategy on developers, but rather it is a flexible option.”
As a refresher, Xbox Play Anywhere allows someone to purchase a digital Xbox game once and then play it on both their Xbox console and Windows 10/11 PC, with saves and achievments syncing between devices.
While Xbox Player Anywhere has been around for a while, it’s a critical part of Microsoft’s latest effort to push its ecosystem features above and beyond.
The “This is an Xbox” push is looking to blur the boundaries of where games are traditionally played, with Xbox Play Anywhere acting as a device to further this trend without buying a game across multiple platforms.
The question I ask is what incentivizes developers to feature these options?
It would appear that part of most Game Pass deals is the addition of Xbox Play Anywhere to a title, but what kind of incentive can Xbox put out to get other developers on board?
While we occasionally see free-to-play games employ this strategy, a game like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows or Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 does not feature anything remotely close to Xbox Play Anywhere.
Microsoft faces an uphill battle when it comes to developers utilizing this feature, over potentially getting players to double or triple-dip if they want to use multiple platforms.
What do you think?
Do you like hearing that Microsoft continues to push Xbox Play Anywhere?
I personally love the feature and have used it multiple times on Game Pass titles when swapping between my living room Xbox Series X and my gaming PC.
Let us know what you think below or on social media!
