The head of Epic Games Store has revealed plans to add the digital service onto the next Xbox console from "day one".
This suggests the new machine will give owners choice when buying their games, and maybe access to legacy libraries.
Only a couple of days ago, we wrote about the Xbox Next coming in 2027 – thanks to comments from its major chip supplier AMD – and now there's an even bigger revelation. The next Xbox could shake up console gaming completely.
We'd already heard several times that the next-gen machine will be more PC than its predecessor – the Xbox Series X – but it seems that doesn't just include the hardware.
The head of Epic Games Store, Steve Allison, has revealed that Microsoft is in talks to offer other digital storefronts on the console. That will allow you to choose where to buy your games from, and potentially run your older libraries, too.
Speaking with Game File (via VGC), Allison said that there are plans to have the Epic Games Store available on the new machine "on day one".
"We definitely plan to be on the new hardware for Xbox, because, unless their policy or stance on it changes, they are telling us they’re going to welcome that," he explained.
"And we’re going be there, like, on day one. That will probably require us to build in whatever their requirements are, some sort of software to support that."
His revelation came after being asked why the store isn't on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X yet.
There are plans to be included, but "we haven’t built the apps for those" yet, he added.
Xbox's handhelds can currently access the Steam and Ubisoft stores, as well as the Xbox Store, of course.
So what are the plans for 'Xbox Next'?
Allison's comments suggest that the main experience for the next Xbox will be modelled on the Full Screen Experience found on Xbox Ally handhelds and some third-party devices. They also lend further weight onto the theory that it'll be more PC than traditional console.
This is similar to the Valve Steam Machine, which looks to have been delayed due to the ongoing storage and RAM shortages.
The only console that might be more conventional is the PS6, with Sony unlikely to stray too far from its age-old PlayStation blueprint.
Personally, I've been building my own console from a mini PC using Bazzite (a fork of SteamOS), so the idea that I'll be able to use the same games bought on the same stores across multiple platforms is very attractive. That could determine who succeeds in the next console war.
Either way, choice will be the eventual winner.
