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Cortana of the "Halo" video game franchise is the basis for Windows 10's digital assistant.
After years of pushing it as the future, Microsoft has all but given up on the Kinect body sensor.
In fact, once Microsoft stopped selling the Xbox One console in a bundle with the pricey Kinect, it saw console sales shoot through the roof, finally closing the gap with Sony's PlayStation 4.
Even so, you can still pick up an Xbox One console with a Kinect in a special $400 bundle with three games - even though most gamers agree that there's no great reason to own one, now that most of the support has dried up and no new Kinect games are coming out.
Late last week, Xbox Community Manager Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb reaffirmed Microsoft's support for the unloved peripheral in a comment to GamesIndustry.biz on the holiday Kinect sales.
"Kinect sensor owners are regularly among those reporting the highest level of customer satisfaction. We are also continuing to invest in Kinect, and are looking forward to launching the Cortana personal assistant on Xbox One in 2016," Hryb told the site.
The Cortana personal assistant is the same one that comes with all editions of Microsoft Windows 10, and works a little like Siri. You'll be able use the Kinect's built-in microphone to talk to her.
Indeed, Windows 10 is coming to the Xbox One in an under-the-hood software update going out to all console owners on November 12th that also brings a new user interface. While Microsoft isn't officially supporting Cortana on the Xbox One until early next year, some enterprising beta testers of the new interface have figured out how to access it. ?
Still, it seems like a pretty flimsy reason to buy an Xbox One with the pricey Kinect accessory, especially since Cortana will also work with the more standard microphones that plug into the Xbox's controllers for online multiplayer voice chat.
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The original Kinect for the Xbox 360.
Otherwise, Kinect's best uses are for gimmicks like saying "Xbox, pause" while watching Netflix. And if Hryb's comment refers to other kinds of support, like, say, new Kinect games from Microsoft itself, they haven't been announced yet.
Regardless, you'll be able to buy the Kinect by itself for a limited time price of $100 (down from $150), or that bundle with the console and three downloadable Kinect games - Kinect Sports Rivals, Dancc Central Spotlight, and Zoo Tycon - for $400, down from $500.