SEGA has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft. The deal will allow it to develop “next-generation global games based on the Azure cloud platform.” According to analysts, this partnership is important not only for the companies themselves, but also for the entire gaming industry.
Photo: Reuters
The detailed terms of cooperation of the companies are not disclosed.
As SEGA pointed out, the partnership with Microsoft is a key part of its strategy, which is designed for the medium and long term. As part of this strategy, the company is going to develop innovative games with an emphasis on “globality, online, community and the use of IP”.
Simultaneously with the creation of games, SEGA and Microsoft also intend to develop a common network infrastructure and tools necessary for creating online games.
“We want to develop opportunities related to game development so that our projects can appeal to gamers from all over the world. Therefore, we have formed an alliance that will use both SEGA’s powerful game creation capabilities and Microsoft’s advanced technology and development environment,” said SEGA President Yukio Sugino.
Analyst Daniel Ahmad commented on the partnership between SEGA and Microsoft. He believes that this deal underscores how significant cloud technologies are becoming both for Microsoft, which is developing them, and for the entire video game industry.
As the analyst noted, it is important to understand that Microsoft’s gaming business covers several areas at once. The company works directly with game content, with services and services for gamers, as well as with technologies for developers.
2/ It is important to understand that the Xbox business refers to a complete end to end offering in 2021:
Content: Xbox Game Studios IP, Third Party IP + PUGC / UGC
Services: Game Pass + Xbox Live + Play Anywhere
Technology: Cloud + Game Stack + Hardware
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 1, 2021 it became known about the agreement between Microsoft and Sony.
Технологии, связанные конкретно с облаком Azure, способны помочь с созданием среды для разработки «игр нового поколения», о которых говорит SEGA. Эта среда должна быть интересна и другим разработчикам, поскольку сейчас все больше команд пользуются облачными сервисами для создания, поддержки и масштабирования своих проектов.
Кроме того, не стоит забывать, что SEGA и Microsoft заключили соглашение на фоне ажиотажа вокруг концепции метавселенной. В итоге, разработчики могут надеяться получить необходимые для метавселенных инструменты, а сама Microsoft увеличит выручку в сегменте технологий.
Напомним, SEGA — не первая игровая компания, которая заключила такое партнерство с Microsoft. Весной 2019-го They were going to jointly develop the Azure platform.