Revealed in a job listing and later confirmed by Microsoft, the Xbox maker now wants to make its Live social gaming service the pre-eminent platform on mobile. Microsoft's Xbox Live hub is one of the most robust, well-developed social gaming spheres out there, and it's about to go more mobile in a big way. The company is looking into bringing Xbox Live to iOS and Android games, rounding out the cross-functionality of the service and extending it from Xbox consoles, Windows phones, and machines all the way to iPhones and Android handsets, according to a report from The Verge Monday. The news was originally hinted at in a recent Microsoft job listing that read, "We will create a modern framework that is open-source, lightweight, extensible and scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android." These plans were later confirmed to be part of a larger effort to use Xbox Live to reinvigorate social gaming on mobile, which is currently hampered by locked-in, platform-specific networks like Apple's Game Center. Key to those efforts is the insistence on open source. Microsoft hopes to create a way for developers -- especially the lucrative mobile gaming subset -- to easily append Xbox Live functionality onto new apps, and is currently hiring to build out that initiative. Previous integration of Xbox Live on mobile is a process that requires intensive conversation with Microsoft. Easing that process, and not playing favorites with its own mobile OS, could make Xbox Live a far more appealing alternative to current social gaming options. source (cnet.com)
