A symbiotic ecosystem where devices such as the Xbox One are able to interact with PC "makes a lot of sense", according to Microsoft Studios corporate vice-president Phil Spencer.
ZoomSpencer was asked in an interview with AusGamer, Spencer was asked whether Windows 8 and Xbox One could host cross-platform play between their respective platforms.
"I'm not allowed to leak things," Spencer replied, "but I think what you're talking about makes a lot of sense."
Spencer continued to reflect on previous attempts to bridge the gap between the two platforms, most notably the ill-fated Shadow Run, and also Microsoft's more recent efforts.
"Now you have differences in Windows gaming and console gaming around control and input... in fact if you go back to Shadow Run on Xbox 360, something I worked on, we had PC players playing against Xbox 360 customers. We didn't have tremendous success with that, but we learnt a lot from it.
"Then earlier this year we released Skulls of the Shogun, which was a game we launched on all three platforms on the same day, and you could start on one platform and then save the game to the Cloud and play across any of the screens and progress. And then Halo: Spartan Assault has some links between Halo 4 and Spartan Assault, even though they're very different games."
The Microsoft exec stated he believes the industry as a whole is gradually accommodating a cross-platform dynamic, and claimed that Xbox Live is key to this future.
"This connected ecosystem across all the different devices is definitely where I think the future of gaming is going; you don't have to do it as a developer, but you have the capability and I think a system like Xbox Live across all those screens where you know who someone is and who their friends are, what their Achievements are and their progression is really critical to that."
Microsoft has confirmed a Xbox One release date of November 22 across 13 markets. The Xbox One price has been set at £430 / €500 / $500.
