The Xbox One S and Project Scorpio may have stolen the limelight at Microsoft's 2016 E3 conference, but for gamers who straddle multiple Windows platforms, Xbox Play Anywhere may have been the more meaningful announcement.
Microsoft's new initiative implies that when you buy an Xbox Play Anywhere digital title, it'll be yours to play on either Xbox One or a Windows 10 PC. The lines between the two platforms are truly beginning to blur, yet there's an obvious benefit to gamers wanting to play the same title on both platforms without additional cost.
Making use of its cloud ecosystem, Microsoft reckons that save games, add-ons and achievements will sync seamlessly between machines, allowing you to pick up where you left off irrespective of platform - provided it's on an Xbox One or Windows 10 PC, of course.
Adding the missing pieces to the jigsaw, Microsoft has this week confirmed to Polygon that Xbox Play Anywhere will officially launch on September 13. The Windows 10 Anniversary Edition update, available starting August 2, will be a prerequisite, as will the summer update heading to Xbox One games consoles.
The company's official Xbox Play Anywhere site lists Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and ReCore amid an initial line-up of 12 supported titles, and corporate vice president Yusuf Mehdi has confirmed that "every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store."
