"We want our game franchises to be as big as possible" — Xbox Game Studios head talks Play Anywhere and bringing titles across multiple devices

One phrase repeatedly emphasized during the recent Xbox Games Showcase is Xbox Play Anywhere, which allows players to to buy a digital game on Xbox and get a copy that also works on Windows PC.

While this feature has technically been around since 2016, it's never before been placed at the complete fore of Xbox's strategy. Speaking in an interview with GamesRadar+, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan indicates that Play Anywhere is more important than ever before.

"The Xbox business is pretty unique to the industry," says Duncan. "Xbox is a platform. We publish some of the biggest and most-played multiplatform games; we have Cloud Gaming, Game Pass, and Xbox Play Anywhere. Our plan is to keep making amazing games and have them reach as many players as we can, wherever they want to play."

Back in March, Xbox Play Anywhere reached a new milestone, with over 1,000 games supporting the feature. That number has only grown since, with dozens of recent and upcoming games joining the lineup.

"We want our game franchises to be as big as possible, while making Xbox the best place to play these games," says Duncan. "And our strategy of reaching as many players as we can, anywhere they are, while making it seamless to buy a game once and have it playable across devices is good for everyone."

Xbox first-party games across Activision Blizzard, Bethesda Softworks, and Xbox Game Studios all launch with Xbox Play Anywhere functionality, but third-party games have been far more inconsistent.

That's something that the teams at Xbox seem to be working to rectify, with third-party games in the showcase like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade from Square Enix supporting Xbox Play Anywhere.

Looking ahead, that work will continue to be important as Microsoft is designing its next devices, including partner hardware like the ROG Xbox Ally, which is slated to launch this year.

Because the Xbox Ally is functionally a Windows device, having more games in Play Anywhere means Xbox console users will have a larger library of games that can be used with the handheld device.

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