Xbox Play Anywhere is off to a Great Start

Xbox Play Anywhere is a program that allows gamers to digitally buy a game on either Xbox One or Windows 10 and own it at both places. The program has mostly just started in Fall 2016 and since then has actually gotten a number of great games taking part in it.

This has also been a blast and actually really increases game value as it never made sense to re-buy games for PC. Despite only being available for a small amount of time I've already thoroughly enjoyed the option and it's amazing how seamless it is. The versions both share Achievements, Saves and Stats while also offering Cross-play which is incredible.

You can take your game from the console and just pick it up on PC without any problems. With this service being new there isn't currently a large library of games offering the service and are mostly first party titles though we're starting to see some other games show up. This includes the latest addition of Resident Evil 7 which makes the purchase extra compelling and it's great to see that third party are embracing the concept.


Some of my favorite experiences with Play Anywhere would have to be with Astroneer, Gears of War 4 and Gigantic. With Astroneer on PC I'm able to enjoy the beautiful 4K quality of the world with the option to play cooperatively with Xbox friends and just pick it up on Xbox One if I want to use the PC for work.

This carries true with Gears of War 4 and while I play on Xbox One mostly as its more comfortable for that title, the added bonuses of social cross-play is great as it really does help grow the community. The final example is Gigantic which is more of a fun game for me as I just love that style of MOBA and it's nice to play a quick match in either spot when I have time.

The program also has a bright upcoming future with a number of exciting titles that should be a blast for multiplayer focused action. These titles include Halo Wars 2; Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, Crackdown 3, We Happy Few, Cuphead and Ark: Survival Evolved.

It'll be particularly interesting to see how Halo Wars 2 fairs with cross-play as RTS is typically dominated by PC though it will be nice to try the game in both places to see where I'd like to mostly play it. I also feel that the big cooperatively/competitive multiplayer titles of Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 will do very well on this type of platform.

This will certainly open up the options for a larger player base while making it easier for players to just generally play together no matter where they are. The Xbox Play Anywhere program is off to a great start with what looks like a bright future and hopefully more big third party titles like Resident Evil 7 join the fold. More options are always better for gamers and with this great of value I'd like to see this grow in the future.

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