One of Microsoft’s earliest-announced Xbox One features might finally be added to the console later this year. Citing nebulous “sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans,” The Verge reports that Microsoft will reveal at its April Build developer conference details about its plan to allow developers to turn retail Xbox Ones into studio developer kits (SDKs).

In another developer-friendly (and customer-friendly) move, Microsoft will allow developers to bring cross-platform applications to the Xbox One beginning this summer, the sources claim. Currently restricted to a small group of developers, Xbox app creation would be open to everyone at that time. App developers would also gain the ability to run beta tests before launching.

Existing apps would reportedly continue to run until November, but Microsoft would then begin requiring all apps to be built using the new app SDK. The report also states that Windows 10 will support these apps and bring their approval and store policies more in line with those of the current Windows Store.

If the report is to be believed, then Microsoft will make an SDK preview program and the retail-to-dev-kit switch available in May. The latter is an Xbox One feature that Microsoft first promised all the way back in July of 2013. Last September, however, the console holder said it was reneging on that promise, but it then issued a correction stating that talk of the retail SDK plan’s demise was untrue.

Source: The Verge