For years Microsoft and Xbox were synonymous when it came to gaming, but lately the company has been hinting they plan to take a more platform-agnostic approach going forward. The company has pushed hard for crossplay, there are rumors Xbox Game Pass may come to new platforms, and project xCloud will soon let players stream high-end games on mobile devices. Well, after teasing it last month, Microsoft has announced their latest cross-platform initiative – Microsoft Game Stack.
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Microsoft Game Stack brings all the company’s development platforms and tools, including Xbox Live, Azure, PlayFab, Direct X, Mixer, Virtual Studio, and Simplygon, together under one umbrella. Even better, Game Stack is available to developers on all consoles, including PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Microsoft Gaming Cloud boss Kareem Choudhry had this to say about the new Game Stack initiative…
“Game Stack brings together our game development platforms, tools and services like Direct X and Visual Studio, Azure, and Playfab into a robust ecosystem that any game developer can use. We view this as a journey that we are just beginning.”
So, I’m sure most of you noticed – Xbox Live is included in the list of Game Stack services. Sure enough, Microsoft has announced they plan to launch a new software development kit that will bring Xbox Live to iOS and Android. Mobile developers can pick and choose which Xbox Live features they want to use, but everything from friends lists, to Achievements and clubs will be available to them. Now, before you get too excited, not all Game Stack features are available on all platforms – Xbox Live isn’t coming to PS4 or Nintendo Switch just yet, but who knows? It could very well happen someday.
In addition to revealing Game Stack and Xbox Live for iOS/Android, Microsoft has also announced some new features for PlayFab, their cloud-based game development platform. These include PlayFab matchmaking, parties, user-created content, and more. You can get the full rundown on all the Microsoft-Game-Stack-related announcements, right here.
More Microsoft Game Stack info will likely be revealed at this year’s GDC, which kicks off March 18.
