Microsoft Was Working On An Xbox Branded Smartwatch At One Point

A watch may not be the most ideal gaming device out there, but a number of people really enjoy [...]

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A watch may not be the most ideal gaming device out there, but a number of people really enjoy playing on their Apple Watches, even if the experiences are a bit limited. But Apple wasn't the only company that had a gaming smartwatch in mind.

According to Eurogamer, some pictures have surfaced from a publication called SuomiMobiili that shows some early production photos of what appears to be a Microsoft-created smartwatch, and one that would've used the Xbox set-up.

The device was reportedly in the works way back in 2013, set for release in 2015. And it would've had some interaction with other Microsoft devices, including Surface tablets. It also could've charged with using a magnetic connector.

As far as what games the device was set to run, it does have Xbox labeling, but that doesn't necessarily mean it could play the same mobile titles as, say, Surface tablets. More than likely, the company would've needed to have made special games to work with it.

There was also apparently some kind of health-related tie-in with the watch, and there's a good chance that the Microsoft Band, which did release in 2014, stemmed from the cancellation of the project.

As to why the watch was cancelled, we're not quite sure. Perhaps Microsoft noted that it just wasn't ready to take on the digital watch market at the time (Apple's still kind of struggling in that regard, even with the Apple Watch 3 just releasing), or perhaps it wanted to focus on more advanced technology, like the Microsoft Band and its upcoming Xbox One X.

Whatever the case, this is an interesting little factoid, and we'll never know what became of the Microsoft watch. Wait, couldn't it have been possible called the Xbox Watch? Or maybe the X-Watch? We'd totally use it to fight crime.

In the meantime, the Xbox One X arrives on November 7th.

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