Play Anywhere is working: Xbox gamers are playing 28% more on multiple devices

Microsoft's cross-platform Play Anywhere program appears to be working as more and more Xbox gamers are playing on multiple devices.

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As a service-first company, Microsoft wants Xbox games, content, and services on as many devices as possible. Microsoft used subscription value to drive new play habits and change consumer behaviors via Xbox Game Pass, but now it's leveraging another older, but synergistic strategy: Play Anywhere.

Play Anywhere, Microsoft's 2-for-1 value program, gives players cross-platform entitlements. Play Anywhere games purchased once but can be played on both Xbox consoles and PC, and this value proposition may have been a major contributor to Xbox's recent cross-platform growth.

In a recent interview with the Inside Xbox podcast, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that gamers are now playing on multiple devices more and more. Play Anywhere has been instrumental in this development, and could help push even more engagement as more third-party publishers start supporting Play Anywhere.

Here's what Spencer said:

"We started this a long time ago, really led with first-party, but one of the things that I'm really proud of when I watch the show is how much third-party support we're getting for Play Anywhere.

"And it's really because those creators are seeing growth--what is it now, 28% growth in our players playing multiple devices year-over-year--that is a way [for growth]. If your game is accessible to more people, they're going to play it more often, if they play it more often they're going to enjoy it. That really works.

"It doesn't mean everybody has to do it--meaning our players, if you only want to play on console, if you only want to play on PC or your handheld, awesome--but when you decide to move around, I want Xbox as a platform to make that seamless and delightful."

Play Anywhere remains a large part of Microsoft's gaming future as it continues the convergence of the Xbox and PC platforms using a more universal and homogenized ecosystem. This program will allow more games to reach more players across multiple devices, including the new emerging handheld PC market that now includes a fully-fledged Xbox Windows PC handheld hybrid.