Microsoft to launch first original shows on Xbox in 2014

Microsoft has announced that it will be launching the first of its original programming on Xbox in early 2014.

Speaking at Variety’s Dealmakers Breakfast in LA, Microsoft’s entertainment and digital media president, Nancy Tellum, said that the company hopes to have something ready for the first or second quarter of the year, available for both Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles.

There are currently 48 million Xbox Live subscribers on more than 72 million Xbox consoles across the globe. Earlier this year, alongside the launch of its Xbox One, Microsoft announced the production of a unique live ‘Halo’ TV series, based on the popular Halo game.

“We aren’t Netflix, we aren’t Amazon, we’re a different animal […] As we continue to do deals everyone’s going to get more comfortable,” Tellum told Variety.

“We’re talking about exclusives […] We play a lot with windows and co-production arrangements […] we’re trying to focus on whether it’s only on Xbox or best on Xbox.”

Tellum explained that Microsoft does not have the ‘layers’ that traditional media has, and that the studio allows Microsoft to be a lot more ‘nimble’ and have a direct relationship with talent.

“The content and what we’re building will be an important part of our future,” she concluded.