Spotify makes its Xbox One debut

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop aimed at students
Microsoft's new Surface Laptop aimed at students

Microsoft and Spotify are joining forces to let Xbox One users stream music while playing games.

The two companies said on Tuesday gamers can now play Spotify songs directly from their Xbox One consoles.

In a blog post, Mikael Ericsson -- Spotify's product director for platform and partner experience -- said Xbox users have long requested the ability to create gaming playlists on Spotify.

Spotify users with free or Premium accounts can download the Spotify app from the Xbox One store and control music from other devices to avoid interruptions during play. Spotify has also made a collection of curated gaming soundtracks.

The streaming app joins Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Pandora and other apps already available on Xbox One.

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Rich Greenfield, an analyst with BTIG Research, said the move is a way for Spotify to enhance its video ambitions.

"Spotify is not going to just be about music," Greenfield said. "[It's] increasingly spending and focusing efforts on video."

Over the past few years, Spotify has developed a number of original video series which can be viewed on the streaming platform.

The effort makes sense for Microsoft (MSFT), too: "Microsoft wants you to spend more time with your Xbox," Greenfield explained. "It's about keeping you in [their] ecosystem."

Microsoft first announced a partnership with Spotify back in May, noting the music streaming app would appear in the Windows store this summer. It's now available for download for Windows 10 users.

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