Microsoft hasn't ruled out the chances of top-down Windows 8 shooter Halo: Spartan Assault eventually appearing on Xbox One.
Talking to VideoGamer.com, Halo: Spartan Assault's executive producer Dan Ayoub explained that 343's current focus was on getting the game ready for launch on Windows 8 devices next month – including Windows 8 PC, Windows Phone 8 and tablet - but stopped short of confirming a future console release.
"Certainly for Spartan Assault at launch we've been focusing on Windows 8 devices," said Ayoub. "So any device that plays Windows 8 - phone, tablet, PC – you're going to be able to play this on. And again, the idea was to create the best Halo experience on those platforms where all of those devices are unified."
But when pushed further on a potential Xbox One release, a Microsoft representative interjected: "For launch it's coming to Windows 8 devices. What happens after that? Who knows?"
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Halo: Spartan Assault is a downloadable top-down shooter announced by Microsoft earlier today. The game follows Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4.
Microsoft has yet to announce a Halo title for Xbox One, but based on what we've seen of Spartan Assault so far, the game seems a likely candidate for a digital release on the console.
“Whenever you're taking a very high profile IP and doing anything with it, you want to make sure you do it right," added Ayoub. "We looked at what a lot of other games had done [and] we learned some things; some things we wanted to do and some things we didn't want to do. I think one of the big things we didn't want to do was make a first-person shooter game on the phone - that's absolutely something we wanted to stay away from.
"We definitely wanted to explore the IP and bring it onto these new platforms but, again, we wanted to make sure it was the right game experience for it. We're inspired by new games, old games... What's fun about this kind of space is that it's still a little bit of the Wild West where people are still figuring things out and doing new things. So there's a lot of innovation happening in the space which was another really big area of interest for us."
Halo: Spartan Assault launches exclusively on Windows 8 devices next month. To find out what we think of it, head through to Steve's hands-on impressions.