In August, we shared the news that Unity, our long-time partner and global leader in real-time 3D technology, selected Azure as its cloud partner to build and run real-time 3D (RT3D) experiences from the Unity engine has selected. This strengthening of our partnership builds on our shared commitment to expanding 3D content creation and distribution, making relevant tools and technologies available to a broader spectrum of developers, and making it easier than ever to bring games to players.
Recently, Microsoft Game Dev Editorial Director N’Gai Croal had the opportunity to sit down virtually with Marc Whitten, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Unity Create Solutions, to talk about how we’re working together to make it easier than ever Game developers around the world to publish on Xbox consoles and PCs so they can better reach their existing communities and build new ones. You can watch the full video of the chat below or
watch here on YouTube.
The discussion was wide-ranging, touching on everything from how the gaming industry and Hollywood are alike (and how they differ) to Unity’s addition of Weta Digital and Ziva Dynamics to the Unity Create Solutions toolset. Of course, the lion’s share of the chat revolved around how the move to the cloud has transformed game development and how Unity’s partnership with Azure will allow them to provide developers with even more powerful tools and flexibility.
Here are some relevant quotes from the discussion, edited slightly for clarity.
Marc Whitten on whether games or movies make greater demands on technology:
I believe that game developers and gamers have usually been at the forefront of pushing what is possible with any technology, and then that usually flows back through many other use cases. I think we humans like to be entertained and we like to play games. So if you give a developer a piece of technology, they will make a game out of it. And when you give that to a player, they’re going to ask that creator to make it a little bit better.
Marc Whitten on the importance of cloud-native game development tools:
In a hybrid world, even when developers work in teams, they will be more and more in different places. So making it easier for them to collaborate, work on assets in the cloud, and access hardware, no matter where that hardware is, is critical for them.
Marc Whitten on why Unity chose Azure as a cloud partner:
When we spoke with Azure leadership and some senior engineers, we saw a shared vision. They were very helpful in helping us understand some potential blind spots and were just as excited as we were about the potential of the partnership. You’re a great partner for us as we explore how we can accelerate time to value from the cloud and increase the impact of products and technologies like this.
