Get Ready, Gamers: Xbox and PC Play Are About to Merge

One day into the E3 gaming expo, Microsoft has already made a slew of Xbox-related announcements.

But perhaps most interesting for developers is that the company is moving forward with its plans to integrate Xbox and PC gaming. Its new ‘Play Anywhere‘ initiative will allow gamers to start a game on Xbox One, pause it, then resume play on a PC—or vice versa. Those purchasing the digital version of a game will automatically get both the Xbox One and Windows 10 versions.

That’s in keeping with Microsoft’s general ambitions to make its software available anytime, anywhere, rather than being tied to the purchase of particular hardware. It also means, of course, that the games need to be built on the Universal Windows Platform to function properly. Some new games like Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and Halo Wars 2 already support Play Anywhere, and Microsoft says more titles are on the way.

As a logical companion to Play Anywhere, Microsoft is also introducing cross play, letting PC and Xbox gamers battle it out with each other.

And since it wouldn’t be E3 without some hardware announcements, Microsoft said it’s working on not one but two new consoles: XBox One S, a slimmed-down version of Xbox One that debuts in Auguest; and Project Scorpio, a 4K resolution system with virtual reality capabilities that’s slated for Fall 2017.