Xbox Live may soon let you join party chat without your console

A new social feature coming to Xbox Live could have big ramifications for the future of cross-play.

Soon, it seems that you’ll be able to join an Xbox party chat through your phone.

Microsoft hasn’t formally announced the new feature, but Reddit users spotted the change on the beta version of official Xbox app on Android.

The beta feature allows players to enter party chat even while away from their consoles, as long as they have their phones. More importantly, though, this app could serve as a roundabout way for players to use party chat in cross-system games. A Minecraft player on PC could, theoretically, download the Xbox App to join in party chat with their Xbox-playing friends.

The Xbox App is currently available on both iOS and Android, though the beta version is currently only available on Android. We can likely expect an official announcement from Microsoft with more details when the feature launches in full.

Source: r/XboxOne on Reddit