According to a new report from CVG, the next generation of Xbox Live will replace its voice chat system with video call service Skype.
A source, said to be a person familiar with the matter, claims that Microsoft is "consolidating all their communications technology" to make Skype the base for their voice and video chat across a range of plaforms, including PC, tablets, and the next Xbox, even cryptically adding:
"You might jump to the conclusion that we'll see asynchronous voice and video messages in next-gen Xbox Live"
The move comes as little surprise given Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquistion of Skype in 2011. They're already set to phase out the ailing Windows Live Messenger by the first quarter of 2013, having previously integrated it with Skype back in November.
These rumors also seem to be supported by a recent job listing posted by Microsoft seeking a user interface designer to team up with Skype in the UK, which reads in part:
"The team you'll join is responsible for Skype in the living room (broadly the home), across various devices but with a focus on the large screen and the next generation of Xbox,"
While I'm personally not fond of having all my conversations face to face I can see how a video chat service in Xbox Live would come in handy, especially if it were made mandatory for multiplayer games. We might see that infamous troll problem self police itself out of existence.
