We're just days away from Microsoft's Xbox: Game On press briefing, but rather than waste time talking about things other than games — as Microsoft has often been criticized for doing at its press conferences — the company chose today to reveal more than 45 new entertainment app experiences heading to Xbox and Xbox 360.
Twitter, Vine, HBO GO, ShowTime Antyime, Comedy Central, Major League Gaming, and many more apps are scheduled to launch by the end of the holiday season, increasing Xbox's catalog by 25 percent and bringing the total to more than 225 apps around the world.
“Xbox fans are spending more time than ever on the console, spending more than five hours a day on Xbox One,” said Microsoft's Corporate Vice President Yusuf Mehdi. “Today as we announce new commitments from dozens of our partners, including deep integration with experiences like Twitter and Vine, we hit an important milestone in our journey to deliver unique experiences on Xbox. We’re thrilled to break new ground in social TV experiences like we’re doing with Twitter on Xbox One.”
Getting into specifics, Twitter will be directly integrated into Xbox One's TV experience in the U.S. It will be optimized for the big screen, Microsoft says, allowing you to see Tweets related to the TV shows you're watching as they are happening. Additionally, the Twitter experience will be integrated into the TV listings section of OneGuide. You'll be able to see the shows that people are tweeting about in real-time.
“People turn to Twitter every day to enjoy and engage in the real-time conversations about their favorite TV shows,” added Jana Messerschmidt, VP Business Development and Platform at Twitter. “We’re enhancing that experience on the Xbox One with a unique Watch with Twitter integration. It will now be easier to discover what shows are trending in real-time on Twitter, tune-in and follow the conversation right from within the Xbox One interface. We are excited to work with the Xbox One team and continue to deliver unique entertainment experiences.”
Twitter is really just the beginning though. The entire list of apps coming to Xbox 360 and Xbox One are listed below:
- Antena 3. Xbox One: ES
- ChiliTV. Xbox One: IT
- Comedy Central. Xbox One: US
- Crunchyroll. Xbox One: AU, AT, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, MX, NZ, UK, US
- ENCORE Play. Xbox One: US
- EPIX. Xbox One: US
- Filmbox Live. Xbox 360: AR, AU, AT, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, GR, HK, HU, IN, IE, IL, IT, JP, MX, NL, NZ, NO, PL, PT, RU, SA, SG, SK, ZA, KR, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, AE, UK, US
- Fox Play. Xbox One: MX, BR. Xbox 360: MX, BR, AR, CO, CH
- Frightflix. Xbox One: US
- FXNOW. Xbox 360: US
- Gol TV. Xbox One: ES
- GoPro. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR
- HBO GO. Xbox One: US: Xbox 360: MX, BR, AR, CO, CH
- iHeartRadio. Xbox One: US
- Infinity. Xbox One: IT
- IVI. Xbox 360: RU
- KDrama. Xbox One: AU, AT, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, MX, NZ, UK, US. Xbox 360: AR, AU, AT, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, GR, HK, HU, IN, IE, IL, IT, MX, NL, NZ, NO, PL, PT, RU, SA, SG, SK, ZA, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, AE, UK, US
- maxdome. Xbox One: AT, DE
- MLG. Xbox One: US, UK, CA, AU
- MOVIEPLEX Play. Xbox One: US
- MTV. Xbox One: US
- NBA. Xbox One: AT, AU, BR, CA, FR, DE, IE, IT, MX, ES, NZ, UK, US
- NHL. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR. Xbox 360: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, JP, AU, BR, NL, SE, RU, TW, PL, IN, HK, TR, BE, AT, NZ, SA, AR, NO, CH, SG, ZA, IR, DK, CO, CL, FI, CZ, HU, IL, GR, PT, SK
- Now TV. Xbox One: UK
- Picturebox. Xbox 360: UK
- Popcornflix. Xbox One: US
- ShowTime Anytime. Xbox 360: US
- Sky News. Xbox One: UK, IE, US, CA. Xbox 360: UK, IE, US, CA
- Sky Online. Xbox One: IT
- STARZ Play. Xbox One: US
- STV. Xbox 360: UK
- Syfy Now. Xbox One: US
- Target Ticket. Xbox One: US
- TuneIn. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR
- TV2. Xbox 360: DK
- Twitter. Xbox One: US
- USA Now. Xbox One: US
- VEO. Xbox One: MX. Xbox 360: MX
- Vevo. Xbox One: CA, US, AU, FR, DE, IR, BR,ES, IT, UK, NZ
- VH1. Xbox One: US
- Vine. Xbox One: US
- WATCH ABC. Xbox 360: US
- WATCH Disney Channel. Xbox 360: US
- WATCH Disney Junior. Xbox 360: US
- WATCH Disney XD. Xbox 360: US
- Watchever. Xbox One: DE
Today's announcement coincides with the rollout of a new update that will remove the paywall that prevented those without Xbox LIVE Gold from accessing apps on Xbox systems.
