"Halo 5: Guardians" fans wishing for a PC version of the game may not be happy about what Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox division of Microsoft, said about it. The gaming division head spent some time with the media during the recently concluded Microsoft Build Developer Conference 2016.
Spencer did not exactly say that Microsoft-published games will be offered on both platforms. Instead, he said that it would all depend on the way a game performs on another platform during its testing stage, specifically the Universal Windows Platform or UWP.
Furthermore, Spencer added that "Halo 5: Guardians" was designed specifically for the console, while "Halo Wars 2" was planned and developed for the Xbox One and Windows PC platforms.
Spencer also said, as reported by GameInformer, "In terms of Halo FPS on PC, I think there's a ton of opportunity for us right now, but I don't want to get into a world where we're looking back, like at Halo 5. It doesn't mean there's nothing there that could ever end up on PC, but I'd much rather look forward with what our plans are."
In passing, Spencer added that Xbox One will soon have its own mouse and keyboard support, just like a PC.
PCGamer reported that Spencer also stated, "If I enable keyboard and mouse on a console – which we will do – and then you download [Ashes of the Singularity] and you're playing on a monitor, is that a PC game or a console game? I get out of saying 'all,' because I think there are games that people want to play in front of their monitor with a keyboard and mouse, and I want to be somebody that builds those games."
However, time frame with regards to the hardware support was not mentioned.
The Xbox One will also have two new features coming this summer, background music and Cortana. This was also announced during the conference. Gamers will now be able to listen to their favorite music while playing games. This feature is already available on the Xbox 360. However, it is not yet clear if the tech giant will be getting the service of Spotify or use its own Groove music app. And with Cortana arriving on the console, gamers may also be able to ask her about the weather for the day real soon. The Kinect will be needed to interact with Cortana.
Spencer added during his keynote session that more features will be coming to the Xbox One and will be announced during E3 2016 by mid-June.
