Microsoft still planning to make Xbox One into dev kit

Microsoft has reiterated that the retail model of Xbox One will be able to double as a dev kit. Eventually.

The platform holder announced last year that it planned to allow any Microsoft-authorized Xbox One to be converted into a debug console, meaning devs would be able to test their games without the need for specialised hardware.

One year into the Xbox One’s life and there has been little to no word on when this will actually occur, with Digital Spy reporting earlier this week that the strategy had been abandoned, quoting Xbox advanced technology group’s Martin Fuller.

"As far as I’m aware there are no plans," he told the site. "I’m not aware of the reason why we didn’t manage to do that."

Microsoft spokespeople have since insisted that the platform holder does still plan to turn Xbox One into a dev kit, according to MCV.

"The comments were inaccurate," Microsoft has said. "We remain committed to ensuring the best possible solutions for developers and hobbyists to create games for Xbox One. We will share more details at a later date."

Meanwhile ID@Xbox director Chris Charla told Gamasutra that "we’re not there yet, so we need to send custom dev kits", reiterating his explanation of the matter during this week’s Develop Conference.

You can read more about Microsoft’s original plans in our 2013 analysis, Xbox One: Your new dev kit.