There Are Now Over 1,000 Xbox Play Anywhere Games

After almost nine years, Microsoft has announced a major milestone for the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative. There are now more than 1,000 games that support the feature, which lets people buy the title once and play it across Xbox platforms, Windows 10/11 PCs, and some PC gaming handhelds.

Xbox Play Anywhere went live in September 2016, originally working between Xbox One and PCs. The feature also includes cross-save functionality and only works with digital copies of games. As a fun bit of trivia, the first Xbox Play Anywhere-supported game was ReCore, with Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, and Halo Wars 2 following behind it. While sounding similar, it's important to note that cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass is different from Xbox Play Anywhere.

"When we look at data for titles that are Xbox Play Anywhere enabled, these titles get 20% more gameplay because it's more flexible, because I can play on the go," said Xbox vice president of next generation Jason Ronald. Mentioning "on the go" is eyebrow-raising, especially after a report earlier this week pointing to a possible Xbox-branded handheld launching later this year.

All of this feeds into Xbox's latest ad campaign that reminds people Xbox is more than just a traditional home console. However, that doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft is getting out of the hardware business. Earlier this week, an insider claimed that an Xbox Series X successor is currently planned for 2027. It might also launch alongside an internally developed Xbox handheld.