Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One gaming console is locked in a heated battle with Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation 4 and, to a lesser extent, Nintendo Co Ltd’s Wii U, but Xbox head Phil Spencer believes that Microsoft can offer a unique cross-platform experience thanks to the upcoming release of Windows 10.

“Our goal in gaming at Microsoft is to allow people to play games wherever they are,” Spencer said this week at Game Developers Conference 2015 in San Francisco. “We know that there are billions of people that play games across all devices, and today the worlds are segmented.”

According to Spencer, one of the key features lacking in many gaming experiences today is the ability to seamlessly transition from one device to another while still playing the same game. For many multi-platform titles, players must also purchase a copy of the game for each system on which they would like to play it.

“I think about our customers as customers on Xbox Live,” Spencer said. “I think about those customers moving from screen to screen, and what we want to bring to those people is an understanding that the games you own are the games you own, and you’re able to play those games on any device that you want to play them.”

Windows 10 and gaming

Spencer says that Microsoft wants to enable gamers to play the same titles on their phone, desktop, console, and so on. By doing this, Microsoft would allow game developers to also connect to their customers through whatever platform they want to use.

The key to this is Windows 10’s universal app platform, which would give developers the tools necessary to create software that works across multiple devices without the need to generate different code for each one. While Xbox’s focus is on the living room gaming experience, Spencer said that Microsoft is committed to helping developers connect to their customers “wherever they are.”

Spencer said, “With Windows 10, I believe we’ll be able to bring one core operating system, one application platform, one gaming social network, one store, and one ingestion path across all Windows devices.”

Screenshot via Channel 9