Xbox Live Games Coming To iOS: Has Microsoft Really Lost Faith In Windows Phone?

Back in December, Microsoft released a slew of mobile apps for iOS – including Lync and SkyDrive, which were always promised to be cross-platform, but also apps like Xbox Live, Kinectimals and Halo Wayoint, apps that were previously thought to be exclusive to Windows Phone. And, at that time, we wondered whether Microsoft had lost faith in Windows Phone and was executing a fall-back plan, to release their most important apps on rival platforms in order to stay relevant.

Well, at that time, you could argue that those were just a few minor apps, companions to existing game franchises and nothing big. But now, LiveSide has spotted a job posting on Microsoft Careers in which the the Xbox Live team is apparently looking for developers to bring “the latest and greatest gaming and entertainment experience to mobile platforms including Windows Phone, iOS and other mobile platforms”. Yes, you read that right: “Windows Phone, iOS and other mobile platforms”.

That is, Microsoft is looking to develop Xbox Live enabled games not only for Windows Phone, but also other platforms, and the job posting explicitly mentions iOS. The Xbox Live integration was one of the last things we thought would stay exclusive to Windows, but it seems that won’t be the case anymore.

Of course, it could be that we’re reading too much into it, but the job posting is pretty straightforward. And, considering that Microsoft definitely wouldn’t develop Xbox Live enabled games for the PlayStation 3, what other conclusions can you draw from this?

Read the full job posting here (via LiveSide).