Unlikely alliance to shake up gaming world in push towards the cloud

Two juggernaut rivals of the gaming world are set to team up in an unlikely partnership that will benefit game lovers.

Two juggernaut rivals of the gaming world are set to team up in an unlikely partnership to bring customers new cloud-based gaming offerings.

Sony and Microsoft — the companies behind PlayStation and the XBox — are uniting forces to collaborate on new cloud-based solutions for gaming experiences, the companies announced.

The move comes after Google earlier this year launched its big push into cloud gaming, and this latest alliance is largely seen as a way to fend off the search engine giant.

“The two companies will explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services,” Microsoft said in a statement.

At this point details are vague, but Microsoft says the partnership will “include building better development platforms for the content creator community”, which suggests the companies are eyeing off opportunities aimed at gamers and developers.

The two companies will also collaborate on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, potentially combining the Japanese company’s sensors and chips with the US computer titan’s cloud systems and artificial intelligence.

Sony’s existing game and content-streaming services will also be powered by Microsoft Azure in the future.

Rivals turned collaborators. Picture: Christian Petersen

Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox have for years battled as the two leading video game consoles, with exclusive titles often used as weapons to win the loyalty of players.

“For many years, Microsoft has been a key business partner for us, though of course the two companies have also been competing in some areas,” said Sony chief executive Kenichiro Yoshida.

“I believe that our joint development of future cloud solutions will contribute greatly to the advancement of interactive content.”

He added Sony’s mission was to evolve the PlayStation platform into one that used the internet cloud to provide players top-quality entertainment experiences any time, at any place.

Google is working to disrupt the video game world with its recently announced Stadia platform that will let players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish.

Google vice-president and general manager Phil Harrison speaks during the GDC Game Developers Conference on March 19 in San Francisco, California, where Google announced Stadia. Picture: Justin Sullivan

The Stadia tech platform aims to connect people for interactive play on PCs, tablets, smartphones and other devices.

Streaming games from the cloud brings the potential to tap into massive amounts of computing power in data centres.

For gamers, that could translate into richer game environments, more creative play options or battle royale matches involving thousands of players.

— with AP

Originally published as Unlikely alliance to shake up gaming world in push towards the cloud