Microsoft to Help Developers Build for the Future of Xbox at GDC

Microsoft is planning to share more details about the future of Xbox game development during the GDC conference in San Francisco on March 9-13. This is a critical time for Xbox as Microsoft is now trying to meet players where they are across consoles, handhelds, PCs, and the cloud.

For the first time at GDC, Microsoft will be hosting the Xbox Dev Summit, with a first session on March 11 featuring Jason Ronald, its VP of Next Gen. Xbox President Sarah Bond said last year that the Xbox and Windows team were working closely together to make Windows “the number one platform for gaming,” adding that the Windows-based Xbox Ally handheld was a taste of things to come.

If the next Xbox console is indeed running Windows and can run PC games from Steam and other stores, it’s probably no surprise to see several Xbox GDC sessions focusing on the convergence of the PC and Xbox developer experience. There’s one session titled “Streamlined workflows for a multi‑device world,” which will detail how developers can expand their reach when building for PC.

Another session will reveal how Microsoft is “bringing console-level GPU tools” to Windows and DirectX. You can check out the full Xbox at GDC session agenda on the Microsoft Game Dev blog.