Microsoft demos Windows 10 Xbox app

Microsoft has demoed its new Xbox app for Windows 10, which will be available on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones.

The app includes much of the Xbox One's core system functionality, including Activity Feed, Messages, Achievements, your Friend List and My Games.

Voice and text chat will be cross-platform via Xbox Live between PC and Xbox One. And, as Microsoft demoed with the new PC version of Fable Legends, there's the possibility for games which release on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One to offer full cross-platform play.

Microsoft also demoed the ability to record and and upload Game DVR clips from Steam via a new system-level Windows 10 interface (so it will be available for any Steam game - there's no need for individual titles to implement the feature).

Options exist to either set videos recording, or to save the last 30 seconds of gameplay.

Microsoft's conference revealed many details of Windows 10 in full, such as the fact that the operating system will be a free upgrade for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users during its first year of release.

Apps and windows can be shifted between windows and full-screen apps at will, while the returned Start Menu can be resized to suit both PC and tablet interfaces.

Microsoft's voice-controlled virtual assistant Cortana will also be available on desktop for the first time, after previously launching on Windows Phone.

The company has a new internet browser in the works too - Project Spartan - which will allow you to manually draw and take notes on web pages. The browser also has Cortana built in.

Finally, universal apps such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook will be included that work seamlessly across all Windows 10 devices. Mention was also made of universal apps being able to work on Xbox One too, although Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that the ability to replicate apps on Xbox One was obviously going to be more suitable for some things than others - and probably not an Xbox One edition of Excel.

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