Sega and Microsoft plan strategic alliance for ‘Super Game’

Sega and Microsoft announced today they have agreed in principle to a new partnership that will allow the former to build games on the latter’s Azure cloud platform.

The two companies call the partnership a “strategic alliance.” According to Sega’s press release, this will allow the game developer to explore ways to “produce large-scale, global games in a next-generation development environment.”

The proposed contract, which is still in the early stages and hasn’t yet been solidified, would involve Sega using Azure’s cloud tech to make new games and “optimize development processes.”

Yukio Sugino, Sega’s COO and President, said in a statement, “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.”

This is part of Sega’s “Super Game” plan, in which the company plans to release a “super” game within the next five years. Sega announced the initiative earlier this year at a financial presentation. This super game is intended to be a title that can be sold globally, which is supported by today’s announcement, which describes it as “a new initiative for developing new and innovative titles where the key focuses are ‘Global,’ ‘Online,’ ‘Community,’ and ‘IP utilization.’”

It’s not exactly clear whether this super game will be a cloud game of some kind, but the statement of Sarah Bond, Microsoft’s CVP, seems to imply that’s the point of the partnership: “We look forward to working together as they explore new ways to create unique gaming experiences for the future using Microsoft cloud technologies. Together we will reimagine how games get built, hosted, and operated, with a goal of adding more value to players and Sega alike.”