Microsoft has announced it is ending support for Xbox features on Windows Phone devices. The announcement was delivered uneventfully as a notification through the Xbox app. It comes as bad news for what is left of the ever-shrinking Windows Phone community, and is another step by Microsoft to end support for its Windows Phone operating system.
Windows Phone was first released in 2010, intended as a competitor in the mobile market against iOS and Android. Windows Phone overtook Blackberry’s market share in 2013, beating out Blackberry 10 OS which was then fresh on the scene, and looked set to be a genuine contender in the smartphone space. Notably, Microsoft acquired Nokia for around $7 billion US as part of its strategy. However, interest in Windows Phone had declined by 2016 as iOS and Android gained more ground. The platform dropped to a 1% market share that year, with Microsoft ending active development of Windows Phone in 2017.
The discontinuation of Xbox features will affect all versions of the Windows Phone operating system, including Windows 10 Mobile. The retirement of Xbox LIVE services is due to take place on May 16, simultaneously affecting all Windows Phone products. Games which incorporate Xbox LIVE features will no longer record achievements or other forms of progress to player's Xbox profiles, and features like cloud saving will stop working, too. Games which do not rely on Xbox LIVE features (such as those which support offline saving) should continue to work, though Microsoft has not guaranteed that this will be the case, stating only that “some games may still be playable on your phone.”
The news is unlikely to surprise those familiar with the history of Windows Phone, with Microsoft ending support for the platform in late 2019, delivering a final security update a year later. Arguably, Microsoft’s continued support for Xbox on Windows Phone was generous, with the company apparently supporting the platform for as long as it was practical. For years, the company has instead been focusing on building apps that integrate with Android and iOS, including more recent rumors of Android app support on Xbox consoles.
These days, Windows Phone has become something of a 2010s-era relic, reminiscent of a time when companies like Blackberry and Nokia were still competitive in the smartphone space. Still, for those gamers who enjoyed Xbox features on their Windows Phone, this announcement marks the end of an era.
Source: Windows Central