And if any company can, it’s Microsoft. The Redmond based technology firm has changed its approach to gaming lately, in a bid to emulate what Netflix has done for movies and TV.
Granted gaming on Windows 10 is still not where it must be — mostly due to issues users have with the Windows Store. But the company has strategic advantages against competitor with the Xbox platform and the Azure cloud.
Both of which are being combined to launch the xCloud service.
The idea being to beam games directly to users, no matter what device they are playing on. To that end, Microsoft plans to make use of its current gaming library while also enlisting third-party developers and publishers to launch their games on the platform.
This is what CEO Satya Nadella recently said when talking about xCloud:
“We describe it as, shorthand, ‘Netflix for games. We have as much a shot to build a subscription service as anybody else. We have a huge back catalog, which is we have our own games. We have a structural position in that we have both a console business as well as a PC business, which happens to be bigger than the console business when it comes to gaming.”
Sounds grand.
Of course, Microsoft is not along in the highly electrifying field of video game streaming. Google has already taken the lead with its streaming service, while Amazon is also said to be looking into launching its solution soon.
Also, Netflix of all companies is working on one!
Netflix wants to be the Netflix of gaming, you can say.
Thing is, game streaming is a lot more challenging to pull off than streaming video. And that is why companies like EA, Nvidia, Sony and Valve have dabbed their hands into it, without too notable a success as of right now.
We’ll see what happens in this space in the next year or two, but with almost all the big players making their moves, don’t be surprised if someone emerges with a clear victory on the back of its technical and technological prowess.
Could very well be Microsoft.
