Microsoft has been promoting the fact that its many new operating systems (Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows Phone 8) offer up cross-platform support for many applications. Later this month, we will see an example of that in the game industry.
Today, 17-Bit Studios announced that their long awaited turn-based strategy game Skulls of the Shogun will finally be released on January 30th for Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox 360. The game will also have cross-platform multiplayer support. You can check out the game's launch trailer on YouTube.
The Xbox 360 version will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points, while the Windows 8 and Windows RT version will be priced at $14.99 in the Microsoft Store. The Windows Phone version will be available for $6.99.
The game itself was announced over two and a half years ago so its definitely been in the works for some time. In our recent interview with 17-Bit co-founder Jake Kazdal, he said that the idea for the game came about because he wanted to do a " ... arcadey turn based strategy game like my favorite 16 and 32 bit games, like Shining Force and Advance Wars."
He also talked about the challenges and benefits in making the multiplayer portion of Skulls of the Shogun work with four platforms, saying:
This was a ton of work. I mean you can't imagine the technical challenges to have everything running smoothly alongside and inter-operating with the other versions. The gameplay benefits by allowing players to play on the road on their mobile device, then get home and boot up your save game directly onto your Xbox or PC! I wish all games supported this kind of flexibility! As a busy parent my game playing time takes place more and more in short bursts, but if I was able to play my favorite games on my phone, tablet AND PC and Xbox I would get through a lot more of them!
Source: YouTube
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