Microsoft Is Planning a Videogame Streaming Service

Microsoft has just released the new Xbox One X, but the company is already looking towards the future of their videogame division. Xbox head Phil Spencer recently spoke to Bloomberg about Microsoft’s shift in focus towards software and their games lineup—and apparently, these plans include a streaming service.

The planned service was mentioned briefly at the end of the Bloomberg interview, but Spencer states that such a game streaming service will debut within the next three years. Curiously, this service would not require an Xbox One console, leading some to believe that this service will also be available for PC users. Microsoft previously made an attempt to create a streaming service with a trial in 2012, but the venture was deemed too costly at the time.

This would compete with Sony’s own PlayStation Now cloud service, which allows users to stream PlayStation 3 games and recently added PlayStation 4 games, as well. The service allows subscribers to stream these PlayStation games onto their PCs.

But Spencer’s main focus was software—while Microsoft has closed game studios or canceled projects in the past, Spencer commits to “increase investment in developing in-house videogames,” either by creating internal development studios or acquiring outside studios. In the past, the videogame community has been wary of how Microsoft-purchased studio Rare was handled, for example, going from making classic games like Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye 007 to making Kinect minigames during the Xbox 360 era. “We need to grow, and I look forward to doing that,” Spencer told Bloomberg. “Our ability to go create content has to be one of our strengths. We haven’t always invested at the same level. We’ve gone through ups and downs in the investment.”

Since Spencer took over the Xbox division after a tumultuous launch for the Xbox One, the team behind Xbox has tried to reemphasize games over the numerous multimedia functions that were previously touted. Spencer’s hard work at the tech company paid off, as he received a big promotion just recently. As previously mentioned, the Xbox One X is in stores starting today.