Microsoft is making a behind-the-scenes upgrade for developers who want to make media apps for its Xbox consoles. Today, the company announced that it has added WebView2 support for making Xbox apps.
In a blog post today, Microsoft stated this new development feature "has been a top ask from our WebView2 and Xbox media app developers". Previously, Xbox media apps supported the older EdgeHTML WebView platform. The move to the more recent WebView2 will, according to Microsoft, enable "Xbox app developers to use modern web APIs in their applications", while also offering better overall performance for those apps.
Microsoft first made WebView2 generally available for making Win32 C/C++ apps back in 2020. It's based on the Chromium-based Edge browser. Adding this support for Microsoft's Xbox consoles could result in many more apps being ported over to the platform.
Indeed, one Xbox app that's already been made with the WebView tools is the Starz app. Xbox users who sign up for the premium streaming service will be able to access the new Xbox app version if they want to stream recent Lionsgate movies like John Wick Chapter 4 and Plane or its original series like Outlander and more.
Microsoft also says that the WebView2 tools can also support making simple games as well. It stated:
Microsoft MakeCode is a free online computing education platform that teaches kids to code and create their own video games. The new MakeCode Arcade Kiosk app is embedded in a WebView2 control when running on Xbox. Now, kids can create their own games and play them on an Xbox with their friends!
App developers who want to get started making WebView2 apps for Xbox, or for Windows, can learn more at Microsoft's support site. They can also contact and offer feedback to the Microsoft WebView2 team via Github.
