Microsoft Azure Playfab CEO exemplifies the cloud gaming revolution

The Gamerant site was able to speak to James Gwertzman, CEO of the cloud gaming industry at Microsoft. A fascinating interview that allows us to understand the impact of online hosted services on the world of video games. We also discover why all the players in this universe, both on the development side and on the controller, are affected by the famous cloud …

The basics of cloud gaming according to Microsoft

First, a little background on Gwertzman. He is the founder of Playfab, a company founded in Seattle in 2014. Specialized in the distribution of online services for the world of video games. it was quickly bought by Microsoft in January 2018On the occasion of this anniversary, Gamerant published this interview. Phil Spencer, who is determined to put his company at the forefront of cloud gaming, is coordinating the development of Azure Playfab, allow to deliver “Everything you need to create and run a living game”. All powered by the Redmond giant’s servers.

The article first reminds that video games are gradually moving away from the era of the physical product to make a radical move towards digital and service. In addition to multiplayer experiences that require an internet connection, single player games also depend on the cloud for updates, additional content and more. The news reflects the involvement of mastodons such as the past few years Amazon

, Nvidia or Google in this revolution. And even if the latter seems to be in trouble in this area after shutting down its associated development studios StagesThe interview is a reminder that the future of video games will be closely linked to these services hosted by the giants of the internet.

A key aspect of the MicrosoftJames Gwertzman highlights cloud gaming. There is a place for exclusive, console-specific games, but the American company believes that a large part of the developers want to reach as many players as possible. A real transversality is allowed by services like xCloud, especially with the arrival of 5G. But don’t forget about the fantastic developer tools Azure Playfab these last years. This took into account the various scenarios that could slow down the creation of a video game and in return offers a whole range of solutions that allow anyone to speed up creation, maintain optimal quality of service and analyze player response. We can get a very concrete overview through the article.

Azure Playfab’s magical toolkit for developers

First, Gwertzman cites the development of Flight simulator (FS)

. The Bordelais of Asobo Studio have benefited greatly from the AI hosted on Microsoftto compile a mountain of satellite data. In the game creation phase, we were able to model several aftershocks of our planet in 72 hours. But it also makes it possible to process meteorological information in real time and to offer the player a true earth in his flight conditions. Ultimately, it is a question of scale; such a project at this level would be inconceivable without the performance of the servers.

And magic can be applied to Titanic games as well FS

than for more modest needs, such as independent games developed by five people. The power of online hosted machines enables small developers to get their hands on graphics processors and tools that were previously reserved for giants at a lower cost activation or Ubisoft.

Another blatant example is that the article highlights one of the latest creations fromAzure Playfab : an AI that can be used to generate vowel scripts. If it had one person read two dozen hours of dialogue, the computer can create a duplicate voice and make it say what you want. As scary as it is, it can also allow a small developer to fully sync a game without having to recruit actors. And that regardless of the language.

Players are concerned too

Finally, James Gwertzman discusses some hosted technologies that can revolutionize gamers’ lives. Playfab party is a voice chat that enables cross-platform communication, but which is also supported by so-called “classic” consoles Stages. The performance of servers Azure blue makes it possible to offer more stable, customizable hosting and avoid catastrophic game starts. Thanks to the cloud, like games Between us Take advantage of servers that can be scaled to your liking and quickly accommodate millions of players who want to screw someone into the void. And although some may like attempts the multiplayer of Take action 3 did not have the expected success, it must be remembered that the Cloud engine used to manage 100% destructible floors with processing power 20 times that of a single Xbox.

The article ends with a nice picture of Gwertzman. MicrosoftIn the end, gaming is no longer just guided by the silicone of its consoles. This allows us to see that the future of video games is also increasingly taking place in the cloud. Convince yourself of the effectiveness of xCloud, which is included in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate !