Blog: cloud gaming

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Despite declining time spent, Microsoft’s gaming strategy is well and good

Karol Severin

27 Oct 2022

Cloud

Microsoft

Xbox

In its Q3 2022 results (FY Q1 2023), Microsoft reported growth in Game Pass subscriptions, but said that Xbox content and services revenue declined 3% year on year, driven by declines in first-party content and third-party content, while hardware grew 13%.

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The fall of Stadia

Perry Gresham

7 Oct 2022

stadia

games streaming

games subscriptions

Google’s game streaming service Stadia is shutting down in January 2023, just over three years into its life. What went wrong for such a promising technology with the backing of one of the largest corporations in the world? What does this mean for the future of cloud gaming? Popularity contest The key reason Stadia is being scrapped? User numbers.

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The trials and tribulations of virtual reality

Perry Gresham

26 Aug 2022

virtual reality

Playstation VR

The new world of virtual reality (VR) has felt closer over the past ten years than ever, but is still just over the horizon. VR remains niche The main sticking point is adoption: currently just under one in ten US gamers has a VR headset, dropping to around 1 in 20 in western Europe and even less in other tracked nations (MIDiA Research survey data).

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Xbox to rid large games of a key competitive weapon

Karol Severin

10 Jun 2022

Xbox

cloud gaming

games streaming

Xbox is looking simply unstoppable these days. After announcing the Xbox Everywhere vision, it has confirmed that besides the announced ‘puck’ in the works, it is indeed bringing the Xbox App into Samsung’s 2022 smart TVs.

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Xbox Cloud Gaming expansion heralds a cross-platform future

Perry Gresham

13 May 2022

Xbox

cloud gaming

Fortnite

MIDiA has been writing about Xbox’s cross-platform future for years, and Microsoft is bringing this closer to reality with each step they take. Ultimately, Xbox gamers may soon not need to own consoles at all.

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Microsoft’s new cloud focus solidifies Xbox Game Pass as the Netflix of games

Perry Gresham

29 Mar 2022

cloud gaming

Xbox Game Pass

Netflix

Last week Microsoft announced a new division of Xbox Game Studios, the “Cloud Gaming Organisation”, designed to help developers create new cloud-native games to be distributed via their Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

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Microsoft’s Zenimax acquisition is about the future of Games Pass more than console sales

Karol Severin

30 Sep 2020

Games

games consoles

Zenimax

With the acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Microsoft is gaining an important content asset for its portfolio – Bethesda’s games. And while the timing of the announcement certainly won’t make Sony too happy as it is about to launch PS5, the key benefits of this acquisition are tied to the future of Xbox Game Pass, rather than to who will sell more consoles this holiday season.

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