Microsoft to replace Xbox Live voice chat with Skype: Report

Microsoft is making the push towards using Skype. According to CVG, Microsoft will be replacing the Xbox Live voice chat with Skype. This will help consolidate all the voice chat from Microsoft’s services after having recently migrated Live Messenger users to Skype. This was revealed to CVG by a ‘person familiar with the matter’.

The report further quoted him as saying, "You might jump to the conclusion that we'll see asynchronous voice and video messages in next-gen Xbox Live."

Microsoft itself hasn’t given any official statement about the matter and we can’t even be sure if this will apply to the current-gen Xbox 360. This could be a move that the company takes in preparation for the next Xbox.

The Live voice chat may be replaced with Skype

Microsoft had started phasing out Messenger back in November. In a blog post, Skype stated that Messenger users would be able to reach their Messenger friends on Skype. Messenger users will have the ability to instant message (IM) and video-call their contacts by updating to Skype.

Skype states that this effort had started with the release of Skype 6.0 for Mac and Windows, which allows users to sign into Skype using a Microsoft account. Now Messenger users can update to the latest version of Skype, sign in using a Microsoft account and find their Messenger contacts moved there.

Tony Bates, President – Skype division, Microsoft, states, “Our goal remains to deliver the best communications experience for everyone, everywhere. We want to focus our efforts on making things simpler for our users while continuously improving the overall experience. We will retire Messenger in all countries worldwide in the first quarter of 2013 (with the exception of mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available).”

Skype states that over the next few months it will help users with the transition process and assist them with other information. To help users learn how to get the most out of Skype, the VoIP service states that they should be on the lookout for some special offers later this year as users join their Messenger friends in the migration.

Before that, Skype had released version 6 for Mac and Windows. The update brought to the table Microsoft and Facebook account integration. Users can now sign into Skype using either their Microsoft or Facebook accounts. In Skype 6.0, users can send instant messages to their Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook.com contacts via Skype. Users with Microsoft accounts can merge the MS account with Skype. All they have to do is sign in to Skype with their Microsoft accounts.

At the time, Skype announced that it has in the pipeline a feature with which users can make audio and video calls to Windows Live Messenger customers on Skype desktop clients. The feature will be rolled out in the weeks to come.