Epic Games Store boss says it plans to be on the next Xbox console ‘on day one’

The head of the Epic Games Store says it plans to be present on the next Xbox console on the day it launches.

In an interview with Game File, Epic Games Store head Steve Allison said the company had been having discussions with Microsoft about having the storefront on the console.

Allison was discussing the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X handhelds, which are essentially handheld PCs which boot into an Xbox app, but also provide access to other stores like Steam, GOG, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net and the EA App.

There is a link to the Epic Games Store on these handhelds, but at the moment it takes players to the PC version of the launcher rather than a bespoke app designed for controller support.

Allison said the plan was to add a dedicated Epic Games Store app for the device, saying “we haven’t built the apps for those that we need to build”, but stressed that the company’s current main priority is to improve the overall store and launcher, and then focus on making apps for handheld PCs.

This led to the topic of the next Xbox console, which is heavily believed to be a hybrid system capable of playing Xbox console games, but also PC games, including access to other stores.

Allison replied that, as it currently stands, the plan is to have the Epic Games Store on the new Xbox console on the day it releases, as a native app offering access to its library of PC games.

“We definitely plan to be on the new hardware for Xbox, because, unless their policy or stance on it changes, they are telling us they’re going to welcome that,” Allison said.

“And we’re going be there, like, on day one. That will probably require us to build in whatever their requirements are, some sort of software to support that.”

In October, tech YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead posted a video showing what he claims to be the main processor for the next Xbox console, stating that he believes Microsoft is positioning the next Xbox console to be a hybrid system capable of not only playing games on the Xbox Store, but also PC games on other stores.

Later that same month, Xbox president Sarah Bond suggested the next Xbox console will share some of the “thinking” behind the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X handhelds, presumably preferring to its ability to access other stores.

“Well, I can tell you you’re right, that the next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end curated experience,” Bond told Mashable. “You’re starting to see some of the thinking that we have in this handheld, but I don’t want to give it all away.”