A new report claims that Microsoft is going to open up the Xbox One apps platform in a major way this summer. The company hasn’t really said much about when it would allow cross-platform or universal applications to run on the console however the report says that by the end of this year Microsoft is going to allow more and more apps on the Xbox One.
Microsoft is said to explain these plans in great deal at its Build developer conference which takes place in April, reports The Verge, citing people with knowledge of the company’s plans. The plans include finally allowing developers to use their retail Xbox One consoles as developer kits.
The company has previously said that it would allow developers to use their retail consoles for development purposes but it hasn’t opened up this functionality yet. Presumably it will after the Build conference.
A SDK preview is expected to be released in May after allowing the retail to dev switch. Developers would be able to access these resources and get their apps ready in time for summer.
Currently only a select group of developers are allowed to create apps for the console but later this year this program will be opened up to any and all developers.
Microsoft has neither confirmed nor denied the report. We can expect to hear more about this matter at the Build conference in April.