According to reports, Microsoft announced a few days ago that it will extend its cloud gaming services to its Xbox series of game consoles later this year. Previously, Microsoft launched the Xbox Cloud Game service. Gamers don’t need to buy game software to install in the traditional way.
They only need to connect the game device to the Internet to enjoy the game. On Tuesday, Microsoft said that users of many of its game consoles will be able to use this cloud gaming service this Christmas holiday, including Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, as well as older Xbox One game consoles.
Cover Game Console
In the online game industry, cloud games have become a new development trend beyond the boundaries of traditional game consoles. American technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are all coveting this market. In the cloud game business model, game software and game membership model will play a more important role.
As a veteran game console manufacturer, Microsoft is still investing heavily in hardware development, but at the same time, Microsoft pays more attention to its game membership service Xbox Games Pass. This member charges $15 per month, and players can enjoy more than 100 models.
Support Multiple Hardware
In cloud games, the game software itself runs on a network server, and game players can see the game screen in streaming media through high-speed Internet and can carry out real-time interactive operations. Cloud gaming has become an important strategy for Microsoft’s gaming business. The company hopes to attract gamers to Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem through different hardware devices.
Currently, the aforementioned Microsoft cloud gaming services already support mobile devices and personal computers, and Microsoft plans to support its video game consoles in the next step. In addition, Microsoft also plans to cooperate with TV manufacturers to cooperate machines (combined with Microsoft’s own streaming TV stick products), so that the television coverage of this cloud gaming hardware.
According to reports, Microsoft announced the time window for cloud gaming to support game consoles at the video game industry conference “Gamescom” this week. This game conference is generally held in Cologne, Germany, but this year due to the new crown epidemic, the event was held online.
Competitor
Microsoft’s competitor in the field of game consoles, and Japan’s Sony Corporation is also betting in the field of cloud gaming. The company previously launched the PlayStation Plus game membership service, where players can get the latest multi-player games and selected free games every month.
Sony is also a heavyweight game developer. The company mainly relies on its exclusive and exciting game works to stimulate the growth of game members. For example, Sony’s classic games The Last of Us and God of War are only available on their own Playstation consoles.
It is reported that Microsoft has begun to invest heavily in exclusive game software in recent years. For example, last year, the company spent $7.5 billion to acquire Bethesda, a well-known game publisher in the industry (also known as B Company), which owns Classic game works such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
In 2020, the new crown epidemic and the stay-at-home order have caused people from all over the world to spend more time at home, which has brought about a booming year for online games. According to a report by IDC, a US technology market research company, the annual scale of global online games has grown to 180 billion U.S. dollars. However, as the epidemic eases and more countries cancel restrictions during the epidemic, it is still unknown whether the rapid development momentum of online games can be maintained.
