"Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition" has arrived on Windows 10. The latest version of the popular fighting video game from Rare is the most recent title to join the list of Xbox Play Anywhere Games. Players who already play the game on Xbox One can carry their progress over to their Windows 10 devices and cross-play between platforms.
Xbox Play Anywhere, which Microsoft unveiled earlier this year, allows gamers who purchase digital versions of Microsoft games to play them on both the Xbox One and a Windows PC. The feature thus utilizes the Xbox as a platform instead of just a piece of hardware. It allows players to save their progress on supported video games and play with others using either the Xbox One or a PC. Apart from the ability to cross-play between the Xbox and a Windows PC, Xbox Play Anywhere offers gamers the ability to play anywhere they have an Xbox or a PC. For example, Xbox players who need to leave their Xbox at home while traveling can continue playing "Forza Horizon 3" or "Gears of War 4" on their Windows laptop via Xbox Play Anywhere.
The current list of Xbox Play Anywhere games includes "Halo Wars 2," "ReCore," "Crackdown 3," "Everspace," "We Happy Few," "Phantom Dust," "Cuphead," "Killer Instinct," "ARK: Survival Evolved," "The Culling," "Scalebound," "Slime Rancher," "Sea of Thieves," and "State of Decay 2." The feature is still in its infancy, but Tom's Guide says that major releases are expected to get Xbox Play Anywhere support next year. IGN suggests that the popular "Resident Evil 7" could be one of these titles. While there are currently only a handful of small third-party games on the list, the outlet reports that more developers will be jumping on the Xbox Play Anywhere bandwagon soon.
"Our goal is to make as many Xbox titles as possible Xbox Play Anywhere, and we're working closely with our developers and partners," Jenn McCoy, chief of staff for Xbox product marketing, told Tom's Guide. Meanwhile, in a recent talk at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center, Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, Microsoft's director of programming for Xbox Live, said that Xbox Play Anywhere is a symbol of what the Xbox has evolved into. "We wanna make sure that gaming for Microsoft equals Xbox," he said.
Hyrb also suggested that the Xbox Play Anywhere is a push towards Microsoft's vision of a digital-only future. "I think the world is -- with every passing year and month, every passing moment -- the world is more and more comfortable with digital purchases, and frankly that's what consumers are demanding," he said. "They want to have that flexibility of content unlocking and being available the moment a game is released. Being able to download it at their leisure."
