Microsoft to pull the plug from Xbox services on Windows Phone

People who are still playing the Xbox games on their Windows phone can now think about getting their last achievements unlocked. Microsoft through a notification has announced on the Xbox App on Android and iOS that its Xbox LIVE services are all set to come to an end on May 16, 2022. The software giant has taken the recent move a year after it withdrew the support for Windows Phone as a platform and also launched its last security update that shipped in January 2020.

This means that from May 16, 2022, the Xbox LIVE enabled games will not be able to record the progress on the user’s Xbox profile. The user’s achievements or cloud-saves will no longer be saved. However, a number of games will continue to be playable after the retirement date but any of the online components will not be functioning after the mentioned date. The announcement on the Xbox app said that the Xbox features will no longer be supported on the Windows Phone devices. It added that the earning achievements will no longer be valid on Windows Phone devices. The announcement also mentioned that some of the games will continue to be available but the progress will no longer be recorded on the Xbox profile.

The retiring of the Xbox services might not be good news for a small community who were also known as the ‘achievement hunters’, who have over the years managed to collect and unlock a number of achievements. This means that for the gamers who have to achieve 100 percent achievements in every game that they have played, they will now have just a few months so they would be able to complete the ones that are available on the Windows Phone.

The Windows Phone OS was retired in January 2020 and the last security update for Windows 10 Mobile was launched then. Microsoft tried for many years to begin Windows on phones but has now pulled the plug and is now focusing on building apps and services.

Photo Credits: Wcctech