Skype, Once Touted For Xbox, Gets Snapped Out Of Existence

About a decade past, Skype was one of Microsoft’s highlighted attractions for Xbox One, which they dubbed the “comprehensive experience.” Now, Microsoft has disclosed their intention to close down the video-conferencing app completely in May, allowing users to move their data over to Teams instead.

In 2013, Skype was set to be a unique selling point for Xbox One in the gaming market, enabling users to video call while playing Titanfall and simultaneously watching TV with Snap. Do you recall Snap? It was the feature that displayed secondary applications on the right side of the Xbox One screen.

Moreover, Skype could be controlled by voice commands, thanks to Microsoft’s promotion like saying phrases such as “Hey Xbox, Call Mom on Skype!” This was made possible because it originally came packaged with Kinect for Xbox One. On YouTube, Skype showcased these features humorously in a promotional video starring comedian Bobby Lee.

Ever since, I’ve come to realize that Xbox One’s focus on entertainment was a misstep, one that unfortunately put Sony’s PlayStation 4 ahead in hardware sales during the last generation. Phil Spencer, the big boss at Xbox, has admitted as much.

It appears that a Skype application used to be accessible through the Xbox Series X|S, but it was removed from the Xbox Store over the last few years, as suggested by this Reddit post. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Kinect is no longer functional on the Xbox Series X|S.

In early 2013, Microsoft purchased Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion. Initially launched to the general public in 2003, Skype had previously been under eBay’s ownership at some point.

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2025-02-28 19:39