Microsoft has been on a closing spree recently after they decided to stop supporting Windows Phone and admitted it as a failure.
The same happened with Kinect, the augmented reality peripheral bundled with the Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles.
The company announced that they will no longer produce the Kinect device. Previously, it never received the expected support from game developers due to lack of players on board. Xbox One S was later released in which some software adjustments were made allowing game developers to make full use of its graphic processing capabilities. The space reserved for Kinect was freed up which is the first step towards getting rid of the peripheral.
When everyone knows that it is a sinking ship, obviously companies are not interested in making content for it anymore. While Whatsapp and some essential app developers choose to keep security updates rolling out for Windows Phone versions, the big mobile game developer Gameloft made a not-so surprising announcement.
The team confirmed that they are no longer going to make AAA titles for the WP. Games like Dungeon Hunter 5, Modern Combat 5 and Sniper Fury are available on the operating system. But, no new updates, content or expansion packs will be made available. Based on this announcement, it is obvious that the next versions of these titles will no longer be launched on this operating system.
Gameloft also provides gamers a choice to transfer existing user data and save files to an iOS device or an Android. They can transfer their achievements and continue to play the game. A bunch of simple instructions should be followed in order to successfully transfer everything you have saved on your Windows Phone to another platform of your choice.
Microsoft doesn’t hesitate to discontinue any product or service that never found the support from users. Same goes for Google, the company that has permanently shut down so many important services including their feed reader and re-named their services so many times. However, for the select few who really enjoyed the WP and the Kinect peripheral, this is disappointing news.
The entire operating system looked and felt different on a smartphone showing enough potential. But, it didn’t take of due to lack of developer support and unavailability of apps. The same happened for Kinect as well but we can say the team may come up with some interesting new ideas in the future.