One of Microsoft’s closely guarded secrets concerning Xbox One development is its SDK. Developers have to basically petition Microsoft with their ideas and, when approval is granted, those developers are given access to the SDK under a strict NDA. While this tightly controlled system works well enough for Microsoft, it could certainly be argued that an open platform would allow a number of cool things to happen on the console. Thanks to a group that has leaked the Xbox One SDK, it’s possible we’ll see what that open scenario looks like.
Homebrew apps on older of game consoles are fairly common but on a shiny new console with access to things like the Kinect sensor and HDMI passthrough you can see how things could get fun. We’ve already seen demos for smart home integration and the potential for controlling Hue bulbs with your voice — the SDK could easily make that possible for all developers. Of course with Homebrew apps there’d need to be a way to sideload the apps and easily access them, not to mention a way to stop Microsoft from banning Homebrew users from Xbox Live, but the folks responsible for the leak seem very interested in creating a community of developers who accomplish exactly that.
It’s a little early to call 2015 the year of Homebrew on Xbox One, but if this idea picks up momentum it’s possible Microsoft will perform one of their now infamous flip flops and encourage this sort of development to help gain a competitive edge over Sony. If you’re a fan of the Xbox One becoming more useful in the coming year, this is absolutely something worth keeping an eye on.
