Microsoft will support existing Google Chrome extensions in the future, according to one of the developers working on the browser in a post on Reddit. Currently the browser already supports Chrome extensions but not out-of-the box. Chrome extension developers still need to make code changes before their extension also works on Edge.
“It's our intention to support existing Chrome extensions”, according to Edge project manager, Kyle Alden on Reddit. This would mean that extensions that work in Chrome will work in Edge without any changes.
Alden posted his statement on Reddit in a post about the upcoming major change of the Edge browser that was announced last week. Next year, Microsoft will release a version of Edge that is based on the open-source Chromium browser.
It was already expected that the change would make it possible to run existing Chrome extensions to Edge, but Alden now officially confirms this.
Edge is the default browser of Windows 10 and despite the large market share of Microsoft's latest OS, Edge never became popular. The browser currently has a market share of about 4%. An important reason for the unpopularity of the browser could the lack of extensions.
Besides his statement on extension support of the new Edge version, Alden also stated that the existing Edge render engine and Javascript engine will continue to be supported in Windows 10. Although they will no longer be used in the Edge browser, it guarantees backward compatibility for some applications that depend on both the Edge render and Javascript engine.
Last but not least, Alden stated that Microsoft aims to bring Edge to the Xbox One.
“We are at the early stages of our journey, but it is our intention to bring the next version of Microsoft Edge to all Microsoft devices,” he wrote.
