Microsoft has kicked off Xbox Play Anywhere with ReCore and will be supported in the upcoming racing title, Forza Horizon 3. If you didn’t know what Xbox Play Anywhere is, it’s a new feature that allows you to play supported Xbox One games on Windows 10 as well – pretty much two copies for the price of one. We’ve been testing out the new feature with both ReCore and Forza Horizon 3 and we’re pretty impressed.
Before you start using Xbox Play Anywhere, you need to know the basic requirements. First of all the feature only supports Windows 10. Sorry Windows 7 fans but to take advantage of Xbox Play Anywhere, you’ll need to upgrade.
Windows 10 supports and integrated Xbox App which replicates the Xbox One dashboard really well. It’s actually almost identical and if you’re used to the Xbox One, it feels pretty much the same on Windows 10. However, to use this feature – you need the latest update for Windows 10 which includes Xbox Play Anywhere. Don’t worry, it’s free but you’ll need to download it.
Getting Windows 10 Anniversary
This was a little tricky at the start and I assumed my Windows 10 was already updated to Anniversary (as I had auto-update already enabled) however I was wrong. Seems like some Windows 10 copies won’t actually automatically update to Windows 10 Anniversary so you’ll need to trigger it.
First, you can try triggering the update through your control panel.
For some, it will update through here but for me it didn’t. You might need to manually update by downloading the installer. You can download it here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
The tool will then download the update and you can run it without formatting your PC.
Digital Only
Even though Xbox did mentioned you’ll need a digital copy of the game to have Xbox Play Anywhere here and there, a lot of people asked me this question. Yes, you do need to purchase a digital copy of the game.
You can purchase the game from either the Windows 10 or Xbox One store. Microsoft has also stated that you can purchase digital codes from retailers but maybe it’s coming in the near future as we haven’t seen any locally.
It’s obvious but you need to be logged into the same Xbox Live account. The account features your library of games but your Xbox Play Anywhere titles won’t be listed straight away. You’ll still need to go to the Xbox Store via the Windows 10 Xbox App to download it onto your PC. From then onward, the supported game will be available via the app to play.
To play the game on Windows 10, you don’t need to have an Xbox Live Gold account.
The Verdict
It’s no secret that the Xbox Play Anywhere E3 announcement was by far one of my favourite things revealed by the company. As a multi-platform gamer, sometimes you can get torn between choosing what platform to buy. I’m constantly on the move as well and I can’t take my Xbox One everywhere, so having that option to play it on PC when I’m on the road is incredible.
All my progress and saves from Forza Horizon 3 is literally there when I switch from Xbox One to PC which is convenient and seamless. I’ve tested this all yesterday moving back and forth between the platforms. Xbox has really nailed it here with Xbox Play Anywhere and will definitely please a lot of gamers out there.
The other benefits is that the games will also support cross-platform play plus majority of their first party titles are supporting this feature. Even if you’re just a PC gamer – it opens up a new library for the PC platform with titles like Gears of War 4, Halo Wars 2 and many more coming in the future.