Windows is the future of Microsoft gaming. Just ask Xbox’s president

Xbox’s latest video was ostensibly about a “strategic, multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon” for the next generation of Xbox hardware–spanning consoles, handhelds, and more. But the end of the video is the most interesting part: This entire hook revolves around Windows.

“This is all about building you a gaming platform that’s always with you,” declares Xbox president Sarah Bond. “So you can play the games you want, across devices, anywhere you are, delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device.”

“That’s why we’re working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming.”

Record scratch. Wait, what?

It’s a startling admission, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to Xbox’s recent moves.

After being spanked by PlayStation this generation, building out Xbox Cloud Gaming, and spending bajillions, (roughly) to acquire major publishers like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has shifted hard to a “This is an Xbox” PR campaign. Splashy ads show pictures of phones, of PCs, of televisions, and yes, of the Xbox console itself, each surrounded by stark THIS IS AN XBOX lettering.

And just last week, Microsoft and Asus co-announced the Xbox Ally X, a new version of the Asus ROG handheld PC with an Xbox button and a revamped, Steam Deck-like interface built for mobile gaming. A big hook for the device? Unlike the Steam Deck, the Xbox Ally X can play all your games—because it’s quietly running Windows under the hood.

“I don’t have to think about Windows, all I have to think about is my game,” says Anshul Rawat of Microsoft in a promo video for the Xbox Ally X.

Microsoft

That’s basically the pitch for the entire “This is an Xbox campaign.” And to achieve true multi-device, multi-store capabilities, you need the versatility of Windows.

It’s still shocking to hear the head of Xbox state the division is “working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming” – doubly so in a video teasing the next generation of Xbox hardware, powered by AMD.

Any remaining Xbox fanatics must have felt their heart drop hearing that, but it sends my PC gamer mind racing. I love seeing Microsoft improve the atrocious Windows handheld experience, and hearing Xbox’s highest executives declare Windows supremacy. But think of all the possible knock-on effects!

Will the Xbox Ally X’s improved game experience come to the Xbox app on Windows – effectively turning any gaming PC into an Xbox? Heck, will there even be a next-gen Xbox as we know it? I’m sure Microsoft will continue releasing hardware of some kind, but could we be witnessing the inception of a new era for Xbox, where Microsoft allows PC makers to ship console-mimicking devices that load right into the Xbox app? Have we come full circle after the death of Valve’s Steam Machines?

Heck, is it time to bring back the DirectX Box ethos that gave Xbox its name?

Asus

We probably won’t know the answers for many, many months – maybe even years. But it sure seems that after years of pushing the closed-garden Xbox consoles, Microsoft is intent on shifting Xbox brand to be much more wide open. That openness comes from the versatility of Windows, even if it’s hidden under a layer of Xbox polish, and Xbox execs are flat-out saying it now.

Buckle up kids. I don’t think Microsoft is really even competing with Sony or Nintendo anymore. We’re in for a wild ride – and hopefully, PC gamers stand to gain the most from it.