The upcoming summer update for Xbox One is packed with features, such as Cortana support, a merging of the Xbox and Windows store and (finally) background music. The music, however, won’t be coming from Spotify — at least not now.
Recently asked whether it could soon be coming to Xbox One, a Spotify representative (on Twitter) said “we’re focused on our exclusive partnership with PlayStation,” which is a non-committal way of saying “it’s not happening.” That’s not to say that Sony’s exclusivity agreement with Spotify won’t end at some point but for now it’s not happening.
@PalmyGamingHD Hi! Right now we're focused on our exclusive partnership with PlayStation, we don't have any info regarding other consoles/BE
— SpotifyCares (@SpotifyCares) July 17, 2016
The exclusivity agreement has been a huge one for Sony, as the app has become one of “the most downloaded apps in PlayStation history,” according to senior marketing manager Carrie Surtees. After replacing the rather awful ‘Music Unlimited’ service in March 2015, Spotify users have already streamed more than 5 billion tracks on Sony’s gaming platforms.
On the other side of the coin, Microsoft has essentially ignored user pleas for Spotify (or a similar service for streaming while gaming) since its launch in 2013. While Groove Music (formerly Xbox Music) is available, to date streaming while playing hasn’t been an option. That’ll all change August 2, although we’re still not sure what service, if not its own, will provide the tunes.
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