Microsoft and Sega exploring strategic alliance for Azure, next-gen game development

Microsoft Logo at Ignite
Microsoft Logo at Ignite (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft and Sega announced a strategic alliance on Sunday.
  • This strategic alliance will explore game development for Sega using Microsoft Azure.
  • This will also aid in the development of Sega's "Super Game" project that is years out.

Microsoft and Sega announced a strategic alliance on Sunday. In a press release, Sega confirmed that the partnership will allow both companies to start exploring game development using the Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. This partnership will also aid in the development of Sega's previously-announced "Super Game" project, which is currently years away from launch.

"SEGA has played such an iconic role in the gaming industry and has been a tremendous partner over the years," said Sarah Bond, corporate vice president at Microsoft. "We look forward to working together as they explore new ways to create unique gaming experiences for the future using Microsoft cloud technologies."

Sega's "Super Game" is focused on a few key pillars such as "Global", "Online", "Community" and "IP utilization," per the press release. While this partnership is in the early stages, Sega plans to use this partnership to explore future collaboration, including network infrastructure and communication.

"By considering a strategic partnership with Microsoft, we seek to further advance our game development so that our titles can be enjoyed by fans all over the world; in this regard, we aim to build an alliance that utilizes both SEGA's powerful game development capabilities and Microsoft's cutting-edge technology and development environment," stated Yukio Sugino, president and COO of Sega.

Little else is known right now, but whatever else these games end up being, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S players can look forward to playing them, given Microsoft's involvement in creating this game development environment.

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.