Though no official announcement has been made, Guggenheimer who serves as VP of Microsoft's developer and platform evangelism group made reference to the console's compatibility with Windows 8.
'Go build Windows 8 applications'
"Xbox one has two engines, it's got a gaming engine and it essentially has a Windows 8 engine," said Guggenheimer, referring to the Xbox One system architecture.
Guggenheimer then proceeded to show the remote debugging of a web application that appeared to be running on the Xbox One, pointing out that the app in question had an xbox.js library.
"Nothing to announce today," said Gugenheimer, refusing to provide any concrete details, "but when I talk about that common core you're seeing that common core in action, being able to target other devices devices over time that run the Windows 8 engine."
Apparently unable to resist teasing attendees one last time, Gugenheimer had a suggestion for developers: "If you want to know about how to get a head start about thinking about developing for Xbox One, the logical thing to do is go build Windows 8 applications."
Building a base
It may well be that Gugenheimer is simply using developer enthusiasm for Microsoft's forthcoming console to add to Windows 8's base of apps.
Undoubtedly, Xbox One looks like it'll have a far closer relationship to Windows 8 and Windows Phone than its predecessor, though to date - there's been no announcement of developers being able to launch their Windows 8 apps on the console in their native form.
The new Windows Store
Any move to open up Xbox One to Windows 8 developers would undoubtedly be welcomed, helping expand their potential customer base.
The existing close relationship between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 means developers could, in theory, launch apps across both platforms and Xbox One with very little additional work.
Microsoft's official numbers suggest Windows 8 passed 100 million licenses sold back in May.
[source: The Verge]
