‘With the Xbox Skill, you can use voice commands to power your Xbox One console, adjust volume, launch games and apps, start and stop broadcasts on Mixer, capture screenshots, and more,’ according to Xbox Senior Program Manager Harrison Hoffman.
Controlling your Xbox One is about to get a whole lot easier.
Microsoft on Thursday launched a new skill for Cortana- and Alexa-enabled devices that lets you control your game console using voice commands. The skill works with Windows 10 PCs; smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Harman Kardon Invoke, and Sonos One; and the Cortana and Alexa apps on iOS and Android.
“With the Xbox Skill, you can use voice commands to power your Xbox One console, adjust volume, launch games and apps, start and stop broadcasts on Mixer, capture screenshots, and more,” Xbox Senior Program Manager Harrison Hoffman wrote in a blog post . “It’s the fastest way to get into your games and one of the easiest ways to interact with your console for everyday tasks.”
Rumors of the integration first surfaced in June. At this point, the feature is only available to select Xbox Insiders in the US. Those who are part of the Insider preview can, for instance, enable the new Xbox Skill on an Amazon Echo and start spouting command such as “Alexa, start Rocket League.” That command will turn the console on, sign you in, and launch the game.
To check if you’re eligible to test the skill, visit Settings > Devices on your console and look for the Digital Assistant setting. “We will be rolling the Xbox Skill out to Xbox Insider rings gradually,” Hoffman wrote. “If [the Digital Assistant setting] doesn’t appear, then please be patient as we are working quickly to add more Insider rings to the beta.”
To set it up with Cortana, sign into the Xbox you want to control, jump on your Windows 10 PC and click here, then sign in with your Microsoft account, and link the skill.
If you want to use Alexa, sign into the Xbox you want to control, click here, sign in with your Amazon Account, press Enable, sign in with your Microsoft account, wait for Alexa to discover your console, and follow the instructions to pair your console with Alexa.
Once you get it all set up, say “Ask Xbox what can I say?” to discover supported commands. A full list of commands is available via this Xbox Insider Subreddit.
