SEGA’s going to explore a “strategic alliance” with Microsoft to create a new global title that focuses on online communities. And it plans to do it with Microsoft’s help. Sure, this sounds great for SEGA fans, but what does it really mean?
SEGA and Microsoft Announced New “Strategic Alliance”
Last Monday, in a SEGA.com news post, the gaming giant confirmed that it’ll join forces with Microsoft to explore new ways for SEGA to create “global games.”
With the world now more connected than ever following the widespread deployment of 5G and cloud services in recent years, consumers can more easily enjoy high-quality entertainment content at any time. Within this highly connected environment, the ecosystem surrounding the games industry continues to evolve and expand as more sophisticated tools and technologies become available.
As such, video games continue to grow as a major medium for gamers globally, with access to a vast range of gaming experiences and communities becoming more diverse and attainable. This proposed alliance represents SEGA looking ahead, and by working with Microsoft to anticipate such trends as they accelerate further in future, the goal is to optimise development processes and continue to bring high-quality experiences to players using Azure cloud technologies.
As SEGA puts it, the company is looking ahead, and this partnership will help the company continue with its “Super Game” initiative. Although it sounds like something from a Marvel movie, Super Game is SEGA’s plan to create “new and innovative titles where the key focuses are ‘Global,’ ‘Online,’ ‘Community’ and ‘IP utilization.'”
What does Microsoft have to do with any of this? SEGA will use Microsoft’s Azure platform to achieve its goal.
What Exactly Is Microsoft’s Azure Platform?
While most of us probably have never heard of Azure, this platform has been out for over ten years now. Azure is a cloud-based platform with over 200 cloud services available.
It’s worth noting that many companies use Azure, not only game companies. Likewise, just because Azure is a cloud-based platform, that doesn’t mean that SEGA’s new game will be only cloud-based. It’s still possible, but not because of Azure.
What Does This Mean for Gamers?
As of right now, SEGA’s Super Game is still in very early stages, so we don’t know much about it. With that said, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the Super Game.
During SEGA’s financial presentation earlier this year, the company talked about this new Super Game and said it’ll be a new IP (intellectual property). Sega plans to make this a global game that’s easy to recognize, albeit the company expects to have low profits at first since very few people will know about it.
Alongside this new IP, SEGA said it’s planning to revive their popular IP as well. This means that Sonic fans might get to play with their favorite hedgehog soon.
What’s cool is that just because SEGA’s using the Azure platform doesn’t mean the upcoming games will be Xbox-exclusive. It’s possible that everyone, no matter the platform they’re using, will get the chance to play both new and old games from their favorite franchises, albeit we’ll still have to wait for confirmation on this.
SEGA’s Initiative Has Just Begun
Whatever SEGA’s initiative is, it won’t be cheap. Rumor has it SEGA will invest $1 billion for this project. However, if you’re a SEGA fan, you’re probably going to love what it’s got in store for us in the next few years. Meanwhile, you can play some awesome SEGA games on your smartphone right now.
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