September 13th 2011 1:41 pm PT

Xbox LIVE and Windows 8

We are confirming that we will be bringing Xbox LIVE to the PC with Xbox LIVE on Windows. We are very excited about Xbox LIVE coming to Windows 8. Xbox LIVE brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices. Bringing Xbox LIVE to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy. 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. We have much more detail to share about the capabilities of Xbox LIVE on Windows and look forward to the opportunity to do so in the near future.

If you want to learn more about Windows 8, you can watch the Keynote from earlier today.

Update: Here is a screenshot that shows Xbox LIVE on Windows 8

Windows, Xbox Live By Larry Hryb, Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson

permalink: http://majornelson.com/2011/09/13/xbox-live-and-windows-8/

Anonymous

Windows 7 never figured out how to have Media Player not auto-munch its own butt making it unusable. And you couldn’t use a WMP11 on W7.

So, Major, as a consumer advocate it is like you really don’t care at all. Why is that?

Sorry, asked you a question on your site, I know you don’t answer those.

MS PR FLUNKieZ.
Anonymous

Everyone step up and tell Major what you think of him not answering questions on his own blog. He is prolly too busy… pretending to care about his own blog. Crazy.
Anonymous

Magnificent! I can’t wait for the new dashboard update & Windows 8!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonah-Falcon/525044162 Jonah Falcon

But will you be able to play Xbox 360 games on Windows 8, Larry? That’s the rumor.
- Anonymous
  
  No, that rumor is false.
Anonymous

Who cares!!!
Anonymous

So, are they porting the Windows Phone OS to the PC with Windows 8?
Anonymous

If Windows 9 came out now for free it wouldn’t be worth it. Can’t believe Major Nopay is selling this.
Anonymous

Is there a free upgrade to XP?
Anonymous

I like how Major doesn’t answer questions on his own blog, then filters his responders Joystiq and Kotaku style. Krazy.
Anonymous

Too busy typing about MJ Fox’s limitiations, Major. Do your job. There are forty folks ready to do it for you, Pach rider and payer.
Anonymous

Major if you are there honk.
- http://twitter.com/GreenMistt Miller
  
  You’re a strange one
http://twitter.com/KinnonII Pedro Adame

Can you confirm Xbox 360′s discs on Windows 8?
- http://profiles.google.com/thief000 J.A.J.G. Thiéfaine
  
  Are you being serious?
  Do you really think a current day top of the line PC can emulate an Xbox 360?
  Even if they would release a PCI-E add-in card with 360 hardware on it, it would kill their core console business.
  
  The answer is clearly: NO!
  This is just a renaming of the GfWL service for PC games all under the XBOX banner, which I think is great.
  
  I’m running the developer build x64 of Windows 8, just to get some insight and what to expect, right now and I can say it is very stable.
  - Jeffrey Morton
    
    Why would you need to fully emulate an X360? Isn’t the whole point of Microsoft’s design philosophy to use high level software-based solutions for games… high-level software that could be ported? Couldn’t they use Hyper-V (which is integrated in Windows 8), for the situations that call for it? I don’t think you’d need a full hardware emulation, just ported system software.
- http://twitter.com/ImTeddeRz James
  
  xbox disks already play on pc you just need the right programs to rip them. but to play them there is not a emulator yet as your computer specs are not high enough
http://twitter.com/Hugz_Plz Evan Rodney

uh…wont it just be way out competed by steam?
- http://twitter.com/boeboelord Boe2
  
  If they could somehow make XBLA games work on window 8 they have a chance. Otherwise good luck, especially when steam decides to implement a metro interface.
  - http://profiles.google.com/thief000 J.A.J.G. Thiéfaine
    
    I think you can bet good money that is what is going to be announced later in the week. Not throught emulation but through updated developer tools that will make a direct compilation of an XBLA game for Windows a piece of cake.
    - http://twitter.com/boeboelord Boe2
      
      if the game was written in XNA, a windows port would be easy. A lot of XBLA games are written directly for 360 hardware though :/
      - http://twitter.com/Hugz_Plz Evan Rodney
        
        all good points! but will the cost for a monthly or yearly subscription to xbox live remain? that could tilt the odds for steam
      - http://profiles.google.com/thief000 J.A.J.G. Thiéfaine
        
        There never was a subscription for GfWL on PC and there won’t be for this either. I do agree however that the subscriptions on the XBOX need to be changed somewhat, especially the Gold requirement for services that require an additional paid subscription.
      - http://twitter.com/Hugz_Plz Evan Rodney
        
        Seems my argument is invalid.
      - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZEMAROLRT4K2P3VOMGIZDHNTD4 David
        
        I think you’ll find there was. And Microsoft stopped charging because the uptake for Windows Live Gold was very low.
      - http://twitter.com/mattakadanja Matt Turner
        
        Yes, GFWL was the same price as XBL…until it failed to make an impression in the marketplace. No one wanted to pay to play pc online games when they never had to before. So, they droppped the price to free.
    - http://twitter.com/boeboelord Boe2
      
      if the game was written in XNA, a windows port would be easy. A lot of XBLA games are written directly for 360 hardware though :/
    - http://twitter.com/boeboelord Boe2
      
      if the game was written in XNA, a windows port would be easy. A lot of XBLA games are written directly for 360 hardware though :/
  - http://profiles.google.com/thief000 J.A.J.G. Thiéfaine
    
    I think you can bet good money that is what is going to be announced later in the week. Not throught emulation but through updated developer tools that will make a direct compilation of an XBLA game for Windows a piece of cake.
  - http://profiles.google.com/thief000 J.A.J.G. Thiéfaine
    
    I think you can bet good money that is what is going to be announced later in the week. Not throught emulation but through updated developer tools that will make a direct compilation of an XBLA game for Windows a piece of cake.
- http://twitter.com/boeboelord Boe2
  
  If they could somehow make XBLA games work on window 8 they have a chance. Otherwise good luck, especially when steam decides to implement a metro interface.
- http://twitter.com/boeboelord Boe2
  
  If they could somehow make XBLA games work on window 8 they have a chance. Otherwise good luck, especially when steam decides to implement a metro interface.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=674106424 Devon Edwards

So there’s no need for an Xbox console anymore?
http://twitter.com/333tennis The

I’m guessing this will be a sort of entertainment portal replacing windows media center yes I know that’s still there but in the long run.

One thing MS should do if this is going to work is have a filter so touch, gamepad and keyboard/mouse games can all be filtered by users if Microsoft is not going to limit what kind of games are sold through this as if I’m on a tablet I might want to see just touch titles only.
http://twitter.com/OoMelyannaoO Chiara Pasquini

Looks awesome.
I wonder if the price point of games for Windows 8 – XBLA will be more similar to WP7 games or to “real” XBLA games.
http://twitter.com/karlcramer Karl Cramer

Troll, troll, troll. The latest game that’s taking the nation by storm! Spot the lame, boorish, inflammatory comments that make this once fun blog the equal of YouTube videos.

Major, wasn’t the point of moving the comments system over to Disqus so that you could ban jerks?
SiNTAX

Really love the metro interface, but please please please can we have the option to “hide avatar” please!
J TRIPLE DASH

the games on demand version of red dead redemption never got the patch that was needed to play the new dlc and has made the game near unplayable. why is this constantly happening? it happened with street fighter and a few other games in the past and I thought that would be the end of these situations but sadly its not. It was said the price of the “god” was for “convenience to the player” is that really the case when god users get treated like this? I phoned Ms and they said rockstar are working to sort the situation and I asked why no one at the live end made sure that the correct content/updates went out to all versions and the guy said its the devs that send it out not Ms. BULLSHIT!!! I won’t be buying anymore god after this as Ms likes to forget about us and makes us wait longer then anyone else. I’m even on the verge of getting rid of my flopbox because of the poor treatment it gives to xbla games & their devs and also us who pay a monthly fee for what? You are taking the piss now Ms
http://twitter.com/tbhjr Tim Higginbotham, Jr

I’ll keep Xbox Live on my Xbox, thank you.
http://twitter.com/AsladaGSX Aslada GSX

PC で XBLA Hexic が出来るってこと？

Can I play XBLA games — examply, Hexic. – on pc ?
Logic Squirrel

No thank you.
Andrei Marincean

If it’s going to make me pay 60 bucks a year to play online on my pc, I’m throwing my PC out the window and move in the forest.
http://Xbox720Release.net Xbox 720

Thats what microsoft is going to offer in windows 8. Xbox Live tv shows through your windows, Best features really it is. play with your xbox.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001756392152 Julian Schurgers

Music and video are integrated in Xbox Live, so what is gonna happen with Zune? I really like the brand Zune, so please keep it. And what is gonna happen to Games for Windows – Live?
John Borsberry

this is unmistakably the direct opposite of what PC GAMERS want. fuck you microsoft, take your shit system off my games and leave it to someone who knows how to manage content (steam).
- Anonymous
  
  Why not take Steam’s penis out of your mouth and open your mind to a service that might push PC gaming even further? Competition is always good for the consumer. If Microsoft does well, Steam and Xbox Live compete and get better because of that competition.
http://www.facebook.com/dr.furry Francisco Medina

really not digging this, not only because i don’t game on consoles and it’s a shitty addition i’ll never use, but it also means the 360 is going to be around longer. with that shitty years old hardware still floating around, developers won’t work harder to develop better games.
http://twitter.com/ParthMakeo Raymond Mallozzi

Xbox is a console game.

PC is on it’s own. In a favorite meme…LEAVE PC ALONE! LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!
Anonymous

To all those people complaining tell me why are you complaning about Xbox on windows 8 on Major Nelson’s blog he is the face of Xbox Live if you dont like Xbox Live and Xbox why are you here?
http://www.facebook.com/alijahgreen Ahmad J Nicholas

Geeks are retarded, lack of common sense or just a bunch of haters (I hate that phrase), because see Microsoft about to take control again. cruel back in your cave because the light is hurting your eyes. Half a brain would tell you: maybe I still can Play WOW like I always have. Idiots
- http://www.facebook.com/xboxfreak2 Glen Hill
  
  why don’t you shut up, geeks aren’t retarded
http://www.facebook.com/people/Balmung-Taishou/100000557848545 Balmung Taishou

To a True PC gamer the addition of XBL on a PC engine is blatantly blasphemy. Especially considering that most PC games are Serial key based this seems to be irrelevant and potentially devastating to the over all image of XBL remember GWL its a mess.
- http://twitter.com/Kadim_Alpha Kadim Baghdadi
  
  Well this is just a service, like shopping and watching Inside Xbox. Full games have nothing to do with it. So dont worry, PC games are still the same
- http://www.retro-gamers.net Jamie Greenland
  
  XBL is about so much more than gaming these days, as you can see the above screenshot includes video and music, in addition to games. I think XBL is going to mash together WMC and GFWL and it could work really well. This isn’t going to change how games are made, or how we play them, it’s just going to change how we access them. Personally, I’m hoping for a Metro version of Steam, that would just be awesome.
- Anonymous
  
  Sounds like “true PC gamers” are ignorant of the FACT that XBL is born from DirectX, itself a Windows PC service. It’s always amusing to watch “true PC gamers” try to generalize PC gaming in such an idiotic, simplistic manner.
http://www.facebook.com/Avantegardener Peter Fitzsimons

You know what, I’m really liking this cross platform UI intergration. Bravo.
http://twitter.com/SaadElBoury Saad El Boury

kudos!
Anonymous

oh well guess this is the 1st step to yearly sub’s for playing games on a pc trust microsoft to kill of the pc gaming industry!!1
Anonymous

oh well guess this is the 1st step to yearly sub’s for playing games on a pc trust microsoft to kill of the pc gaming industry!!1
- Peter M.
  
  They already tried that with windows live and failed. I don’t think they’ll do that again.
  Pc gamers don’t want to pay for online play and they don’t have to.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UGKGLEVXY242JH5GBTYOMCGPBU gdsmkfn

Is this going to be available for Xbox 360 users for their dashboard??? Will this effect backgrounds for the dashboard for the 360′s???? I want my Xbox 360 Dashboard to look like this too??????? I just want to use Bing & Youtube through my xbox 360!!!!!!
- Anonymous
  
  Yes, both the XBox 360 and Windows 8 will have this dashboard. The XBox 360 is supposed to Beta its dashboard in October.
  
  No word on theme support, but I imagine they will still be there.
Steven Melton

so excited to see this coming!! Going to be fantastic
http://danielalexan80.wordpress.com/ Dazzle369

Can’t wait to get my hands on this thing!
http://www.facebook.com/JMR28 Jose Martinez Ruiz

awesome! windows 8 has great potential and im excited that it doesn’t use a lot of resources to run.
Anonymous

Um, is it just me or does this just sound like windows live, like i don’t see a difference.
- Nick Baas
  
  They’re gonna charge for it now.
  - Peter M.
    
    I doubt that.
  - Peter M.
    
    I doubt that.
- Nick Baas
  
  They’re gonna charge for it now.
http://www.facebook.com/kuulamiles Kuula Miles

When will my WinPhone be friendly/syncable to my Xbox 360?
http://www.facebook.com/kuulamiles Kuula Miles

When will my WinPhone be friendly/syncable to my Xbox 360?
Anonymous

Kwitcherbellyachin. If you plan on using Steam, use Steam.

For those more familiar with Xbox Live, it’s a nice feature which uses a bit of cohesion between platforms.

I wonder if buying a game available for both platforms will make it owned on both? Probably not, but it would be pretty cool.
- Anonymous
  
  There is a strong hint in the preview they showed yesterday that this might be the case for Windows Phone games at least. It’s possible that they could do this for Xbox Live Arcade games, which would really, really be nice to be able to play on PC and XBox 360 just like Game Room. They do this with Zune content already, so it could be done for small Arcade titles.
  - http://www.facebook.com/kuulamiles Kuula Miles
    
    They need to fix & release new stuff for Game Room before I’ll buy any Windows 8 stuff. Where’s pack 14?
    - Anonymous
      
      There is no Pack14. Chrome Studios (the developer) closed down due to financial trouble.
      
      I was referencing the buy once, play on two platforms capability that Game Room has.
Anonymous

The Xbox dashboard looks a thousand times better than the Windows one.
- Anonymous
  
  the XBox dashboard is changing this fall to match what you see above.
  - Anonymous
    
    Sorry, that’s what I meant. Win8 Start screen = ugly. New Xbox Dash = pretty.
http://twitter.com/333tennis The

I really hope MS does one thing which would be very cool. Allow remote playing of PC games under Windows 8 through your Xbox 360 connected to your TV.

Your PC does the rendering and the 360 views the output allowing you to play games like Age of Empires online though your TV using keyboard/mouse or gamepad for other titles. Windows 8 already has the technology to do this and it would be a big plus point for PC gamers while benefiting Xbox 360 userbase as well tying it altogether.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_C22GJMCYWP5BUALNMGCTLFUEHA O Malley

Going by the alternating OS release formula that has rung true to this day (95, 2000, XP, 7 were worth buying, 98, ME, Vista were not) I’ll give this one a miss. Looking forward to the revised version in a years’ time though!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SNYZT2YWZW6B5R3JK2JGKEKZIE Scruffy On the

I dont know about the rest of you, but I am tired of paying for themes and then they change the dashboard. In effect breaking the content we pay for. I say we demand our mony back from MS for all themes purchased. As this is the second time they have pulled this BS.
Anonymous

Major Nelson, if you want to make Windows games better integrated for Live, unbundle achievements from the main backbone of Games for Windows

I should be able to add to my gamerscore even if they’re using Steam

I’m a sad puppy right now, because i”m buying PC Battlefield 3 for the best game experience, but I’m not able to get what I really want, which is the best game and my gamerscore all in one go.
- Anonymous
  
  Then tell EA you want the PC version of Battlefield 3 on Live instead of Origin.
  - Anonymous
    
    Since EA owns origin, and is using BF3 to launch it, I seriously doubt that they would be willing to do it. However, Origin at least currently lacks an achievement system, which by opening up the ability to pop achievements regardless of DRM provider would solve that problem wouldn’t it?
    - Anonymous
      
      Origins is also going to eventually have its own achievements too. It’s meant to be much more than a DRM provider. The root issue is with EA, not Microsoft.
      
      Personally, I see Origin as being completely redundant and a waste of time & resources. Furthermore, it only fractures the gaming community based upon publisher, and goes against the unified community that Live, Steam, and PSN build.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000360540238 Clyde Swanker IV

This is interesting. I hope they do not have a charge fee to play games online, like they tried on the early build of GFWL… Will we be able to chat like (msn messenger) and talk to players and accept game invites just via our desktop on a pop up window? I have been looking forward to a messenger app on the GFWL side. But hasn’t happened yet. Will we be able to play Xbox 360 games on the new Windows 8? If not will there be more hit titles from 360 coming to GFWL? Say Halo 3, odst, reach, Halo 1 C.E.A. and other games that use the Live Feature? many games are on GFWs thing but 25% maybe at most use the LIVE System in my opinion :/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Justin-Fox/1396218009 Justin Fox

u all do know the new windows will have a dual os on it means u can have what you see above or the old look as well…

i read that on cnet when windows 8 was told to the public

September 13th 2011 1:41 pm PT

Xbox LIVE and Windows 8

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