While Microsoft hasn’t officially announced anything about it, it is an open secret that Windows Core OS is being prepared for next-gen Microsoft devices – in particular, the Surface Neo and other folding PCs that run Windows 10 X.
Today, however, a post from LinkedIn revealed that Microsoft may also be planning to use the kernel for future versions of everyone’s favourite Microsoft gaming console – the Xbox.
As spotted by
Windows Latest, a
LinkedIn page from Microsoft has appeared that contains several references to the mysterious operating system. The LinkedIn page has an entry that reads as follows:
“On the team building Windows Core OS: the foundation for future iterations of Windows 10, Windows Mixed Reality (HoloLens), and Xbox system software. Currently working on Windows 10X, the operating system for dual-screen PCs like the Surface Neo – available holiday 2020.“
The Xbox One family of consoles currently use the aptly named Xbox OS, which uses the Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine monitor and contains separate operating systems for different games and applications. This OS is updated monthly and has had a Windows 10-based core since November 2015.
Windows Core OS is, of course, a modular, processor-agnostic Windows kernel designed to be paired with so-called Composable Shells, though it seems the majority of those – such as the Andromeda smartphone shell and Polaris desktop shell – have ended up being cancelled.
The Xbox shell may be the rumoured GameCore, which
Thurrott.com states is the “
the evolution of the UWP platform and is going to help Microsoft eventually start building container-based apps. GameCore will make it significantly easier for developers to utilize Xbox services on both PC and the Xbox and should provide for higher levels of performance with lower-level system access and control of hardware assets.”
Assuming that Microsoft is planning on using Windows Core OS as a common OS across all of its products, it looks likely that future Xbox consoles – perhaps even starting with the
Xbox Series X – would run using a Windows Core OS-based core.
Windows Core OS devices, of course, have unfortunately had a rather cursed development, plagued with multiple delays thanks to what appears to be slow development of the operating system. Hopefully, Microsoft will have better luck with a much more locked down device such as a gaming console.