Xbox One gets Dev Mode for sideloading apps and games from Windows PC

The Xbox One is getting a Dev Mode, in which developers can sideload apps and games made for the Universal Windows Platform on the console via Visual Studio. Any console sold can be put into Dev Mode.

Dev Mode requires account registration and an app from the Windows Store. Moreover, there is a limitation. Those who want to deactivate Dev Mode will have to reset their Xbox One, which will erase all data from the console.

The developer option allows a user to link the Xbox One to a Windows PC, after which the program can deploy Visual Studio apps and games to the console, as it sees the Xbox One as a Windows 10 device. The basic version is free, there is also a paid version with more options via a Dev Center account for $ 19.

The Dev Mode can be used from Wednesday, but Microsoft warns that it is a test version. In addition, apps and games can use 448MB of memory from the Xbox One. At the release this summer, that will be 1GB. This summer it will also be possible to run Windows apps on an Xbox One without Dev Mode. In addition, Microsoft is merging the download stores for Xbox One and Windows 10, among others, into a joint Store.

In addition, in May, support for G-Sync and FreeSync will be coming to games based on Microsoft’s Universal Windows Apps, which also run on the Xbox One and can be purchased through the Windows Store. Microsoft also announced that Cortana will be coming to Xbox One this summer with the Anniversay Update. Microsoft will announce more about this during E3.

Microsoft announced the new features during its keynote address at its own developer conference Build, which is currently taking place in the US city of San Francisco.