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Job adverts from Microsoft have fuelled speculation that its Xbox LIVE voice chat programme could be replaced by Skype.
Hot on the heels of the company’s announcement to replace Microsoft Messenger with Skype in March, notices on its website confirm that popular software application Skype will be joining up with the games console.
Last week’s job announcement on Microsoft’s career page, titled
‘software development engineer – Skype for Xbox job’, went onto reveal
that the role is within a ‘new team to Skype’.
Skype Xbox Team revealed
The brief said: “We’re building the next generations of our products
and technology right here in London and Skype is looking to hire a
software development engineer to contribute to the development of our
experiences on Xbox.
“As a member of the Skype Xbox Engineering Team in London, you will
have a strong technical background developing client and/or embedded
software.”
A raft of other vacancies for the ‘Skype for Xbox team’, on
Microsoft’s website, reference driving the commercial and financial
success of the ‘Skype on Xbox’ project and mention the new combination
of the ‘powerful Xbox hardware with Skype’s rich communication toolset’.
Currently Xbox LIVE
users can use voice chat for free if they have a headset. Other paid
for options include party chat or Xbox Kinect – which enables voice chat
or video chat with other Xbox 360 users, or users of Windows Live
Messenger.
Microsoft’s $8.5 million procurement of Skype took place in 2011 and was the biggest purchase in the company’s 40-year history.
Although it appears Microsoft is phasing out another communication
platform for a more streamlined service, specific details on the new
Xbox/Skype strategy have not officially been released.
It is also not known if the collaboration will coincide with the
eagerly anticipated release of the new Xbox – expected later this year.
