Microsoft has officially announced a new division within the label Xbox Game Studios which will focus directly on the production of cloud native games. The new sector is led by Kim Swift, recognized for her time at Valve as project leader and designer on ‘Portal‘, as well as creative and main artist of the first and second ‘Left 4 Dead’.

The information has been released through a video aimed especially at developers presented by Swift herself. Explain what the new division “will partner with teams around the world to develop cloud-native games to deliver unprecedented experiences to gamers”.

It is important to understand that a cloud-native game is quite different from a game that can be streamed from the cloud.

Native video games use online computing to process parts of the program, while computers and game consoles run a large part of the game at the same time, something that opens up many technical and gaming possibilities.

Microsoft has been exploring the “power of the cloud” since Xbox One, with mixed results, but it appears this is part of a long-term strategy, as Swift explains in the video. She even cites Netflix as an example:

“Cloud gaming is still in its infancy. At the time Netflix was created, internet speeds were not what was needed to send packets fast enough to support streaming. So instead, they sent physical packages through the mail, in the form of DVDs, and had to wait for the technology to catch up with their company image. But they were prepared for it.”

Introducing XGS Publishing’s – New Cloud Gaming Organization

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