Microsoft and Sony Announce Strategic Partnership

On the 16th of May 2019, Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft) and Sony Corporation (Sony) announced the two companies will be exploring a strategic partnership for gaming and cloud services. Details so far are vague, but it is highly doubtful that there will be an end to the Xbox/PlayStation console war. What is known is that the two companies will be joining hands to develop future cloud solutions within Microsoft Azure. Some experts speculate this partnership is in response to the Google announcement of its entry to the gaming industry with Stadia, Google’s future streaming service.

This partnership may also be a sign that future consoles may do away with the disc drives and instead bring all games into a streaming platform similar to PC games. In fact, Microsoft has already removed the disc drive from the Xbox One S, leaving an all-digital version. Sony in the meantime, has started to port some of its PlayStation exclusive games to the PC such as God of War 3 Remastered and Detroit: Become Human through its PlayStation Now.

The Sony and Microsoft partnership could also be a sign that console exclusive games may start to see a decline as games will be moved to streaming. While the technology is still in its early stages, it appears that the two companies foresee a rise in cloud-based gaming.

Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corporation will provide more information as they become available.