Microsoft has revealed that it will discontinue support for Xbox Live services on its Windows Phone line from May 16 2022.

As reported by Windows Central, cloud saves and in-game achievements gained on the Windows Phones will no longer be recorded to Xbox Live player profiles following the service closure.

The company has stated some games will remain playable after the services are shut down, however, online support for these titles is not expected to continue.

Microsoft ended official support for Windows Phone as a platform in January 2020, with a final security update prior to closure.

Retiring

"Starting May 16, 2022, Xbox features will no longer be supported on Windows Phone devices," said the firm in a notification on the Xbox app.

"As part of this change, earning achievements will be retired on Windows Phone devices. Some games may still be playable on your phone, but progress will not be recorded to your Xbox profile."

Despite the current announcement hinting that Microsoft is moving away from mobile, this is not entirely the case.

Following the firm’s $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard it outlined that the principal purpose of the acquisition is to expand into new geographic markets in "mobile first" communities. It is expected that the firm will tap into the mobile expertise of AB subsidiary King to achieve this goal.