The company will integrate Skype in most of its consumer products

Apr 20, 2012 13:27 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is determined to bring Skype to as many of its products as possible, including Xbox, the most recent reports on the matter suggest.

The company already has the communication service available on its Windows and Windows Phone platforms, but it appears set to bring it to more platforms in the near future.

Following recent job listings on Microsoft’s website that pointed at plans to make a web version of the Skype application available, new job posts spotted there show that Xbox users might also receive access to the software on their consoles.

The listings are pretty straightforward, although they do not offer info on when the application will be released on the gaming platform.

“Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Hundreds of millions of individuals and businesses actively use Skype making hundreds of millions minutes of video / voice calls per day, send instant messages and sharing files with other Skype users,” one of the posts reads.

“We’re building the next generations of our products and technology right here in London and Skype is looking to hire a Software Development Engineer to contribute to the development of our experiences on Xbox.”

The second one shows that the Redmond-based software giant is looking for an experienced Engineering Manager for the London team to help it design and build the Xbox software.

Skype already powers communication between millions of users on various platforms, including mobile operating systems such as Android and Windows Phone.

Moreover, a while ago, Microsoft hinted at plans to come up with a Metro-style Skype application as well, specifically designed for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

At the moment, Xbox users can take advantage of video chatting capabilities on their consoles via Kinect or the Live Vision camera, yet Skype integration would offer them the possibility to stay close to contacts across a variety of platforms.