Xbox One may eventually get support for Windows 8 apps

Microsoft seems to have big plans for the Xbox One. According to The Verge, at the Build conference, Microsoft’s Developer and Platform Evangelism group’s Vice President Steve Guggenheimer has hinted that the next-gen console may get support to run Windows 8 apps eventually.

“Xbox One has two engines, it’s got a gaming engine and it essentially has a Windows 8 engine,” Guggenheimer said. “Nothing to announce today, but when I talk about that common core you’re seeing that common core in action, being able to target other devices over time that run the Windows 8 engine.”

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Guggenheimer then went on to demonstrate remote debugging of a web app that seemed to be running on an Xbox One. This strongly hints towards Microsoft eventually opening up something like the Windows 8 Store for Xbox One owners. This will open up a whole new world for app developers where they will be able to make use of the Xbox SmartGlass app and the Kinect for unique web apps.

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Microsoft has also mentioned that along with web apps, the Xbox One will also be capable of supporting native apps. The development tools for Xbox One apps are said to be almost identical to that of Windows 8.

At the event, the company had also announced a partnership with Unity for bringing its engine to the Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

Unity will be developing new tools that will support Microsoft’s next-gen console and a lot of its new features, including multiplayer matchmaking, SmartGlass, Kinect gesture recognition and Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology. Developers that work under Microsoft Studios will get access to the developer tools at no cost.