Microsoft may be tinkering with playing Xbox One games on Windows

Microsoft may be experimenting with bringing support for Xbox One games to PC, or so suspect cybersleuths poking around in recent test versions of Windows 10. Microsoft have released Windows 10 editions of all their own Xbone games for several years now but if this turns out to be what some suspect, Windows may in future directly support any and all Xbox One games. Maybe. If this is what some suspect. What's clear is that Microsoft are definitely testing something to do with games for future versions. Definitely a thing. Of some sort.

As Ars Technica report, Microsoft have accompanied recent Windows 10 preview builds with a note to download and test a special version of State Of Decay. Given that the game's a few years old, that seemed a curious request. So folks started poking.

Filefondlers discovered that this test version of State Of Decay comes in the same .xvc file format at Xbox One games, that the Windows build includes PowerShell commands to install and meddle with .xvc files, and that it seems to be using several Xbox services and APIs. The console runs a custom version of Windows, and it seems some of those custom parts may be coming to PC. In short, this may be the Xbone version of the game running on PC.

That doesn't mean it is. And it does seem to be doing some custom technical trickery, Ars say, so even if this is an Xbone game running natively on Windows it doesn't mean we'll be able to bung in any Xbone game and play on PC. There are a whole lot of things this may or may not mean. We do not know.

But Microsoft are doing something related to games on Windows, which is more than could be said during some of their dark years. I'd rather have compatibility with Xbox 360 games for all those which skipped PC but hey, I'll take anything.