Enhancing the mobile gaming experience, Microsoft is introducing touch controls to its Xbox applications for both iOS and Android platforms. These intuitive touch controls closely resemble the ones offered on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service, providing users with a seamless and familiar interface for gaming on the go. This initiative aims to further integrate console gaming into the mobile realm, offering players a convenient and immersive gaming experience on their smartphones and tablets.
As reported by The Verge, Microsoft is enhancing the mobile gaming experience for Xbox users by incorporating touch controls into its Xbox apps for both iOS and Android. The touch controls, currently in beta testing, empower users to remotely oversee their consoles and engage in gaming sessions on mobile devices without the requirement of a Bluetooth controller.
These touch controls closely resemble those found on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service, presenting users with an on-screen overlay for seamless navigation through the Xbox user interface. This functionality allows users to initiate games and stream directly from their consoles, eliminating the need for a physical controller during mobile gaming sessions.
Concurrently, Microsoft has initiated substantial organizational adjustments, revealing plans to cut approximately 1,900 positions within its Xbox and Blizzard gaming divisions. This workforce reduction represents around 8% of the total employee count in the Microsoft Gaming division, which currently stands at approximately 22,000 individuals.
In an internal communication, Matt Booty, the President of Game Content and Studios at Microsoft, confirmed these workforce changes and announced the departure of Allen Adham, Chief Design Officer at Blizzard. Adham, a co-founder of Blizzard, has played a crucial role in shaping the company’s games. Booty expressed confidence that Adham’s impact would endure through his mentorship of emerging designers in the gaming industry.
As part of the restructuring, Microsoft disclosed the cancellation of a previously announced survival game from Blizzard. Despite this setback, Booty emphasized that the talent initially allocated to this project would be redirected towards promising new ventures in the early stages of development within Blizzard.