Xbox leads the Future of Cloud Gaming, Immutable X gives AAA Promises & GTA 6 Updates
Xbox leads the Future of Cloud Gaming
Yesterday’s Microsoft Earnings reported that 4+ million people have streamed Fortnite on Xbox Cloud Gaming since May. Out of those 4+ million players, 1 million were “new to the ecosystem”.
Cloud gaming is when you play online video games via a remote server in a data centre. It allows players to stream games on a range of devices – provided you have excellent broadband internet speed and are subscribed to a Cloud Gaming provider. There are many options, from Google’s Stadia, to Amazon’s Luna, to Sony’s PlayStation Plus.
Of course, this type of gaming is still very new and will most likely evolve over time. The subscription model won’t necessarily be the only way to be a Cloud gamer, for instance Xbox Cloud has been offering Fortnite as their first free-to-play game since May, in collaboration with Epic Games. This means that it is now possible to stream the game through web browser from any device (iOS, Android, Windows PC) with Xbox Cloud Gaming, no subscription nor console needed.
“This is just the beginning for us – we’re going to learn, implement feedback, and in time look to bring even more free-to-play titles to players through the cloud.”
– Catherine Gluckstein, Xbox Cloud Gaming VP and Head of Product.
Cloud Gaming although it has its technical limitations remains very attractive and promising in terms of opening the doors to a whole new player profile, one that may not have had access to consoles or PC, one that has been experiencing FOMO and one that will jump at any opportunity to take part in vivid online social worlds like Fortnite.
Immutable X: AAA Games and AAA Promises
The Web3 gaming space has yet to witness the building of a longstanding game, let alone a AAA game. For the record, triple A games aren’t necessarily more sought-after as than the more simple games. The quality of graphics and complexity of the game world doesn’t always contribute to the appeal. The era of web browser flash games is a direct testament to that, where people would happily switch between mini-games for hours on end.
Nonetheless, it seems as though there is a race amongst Web3 game builders and funds to build the first AAA game.
What’s interesting is the positioning of these games as value-generating machines. Having seen the rise and fall of play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity, this begs the question: why attract players based on financial incentives when we have seen this send game economies into a death spiral?
One of the biggest challenges in Web3 Gaming is getting the open economy part right – it’s about creating a game economy that is sustainable enough that players are able to own their assets and exchange value in-game, without the whole thing collapsing onto itself.
Promoting the delivery of “10x value to players” is questionable in trying to create sustainable economies because it will likely attract players looking to extract value. There is a high probability that Web3 games in the near-future will be working experiments of open economy design, until they aren’t anymore.
OTHER NEWS
GTA 6 Updates
– First playable female protagonist of the franchise.
– Main setting will be fictional Miami.
– The game world will be evolving as they gradually add new cities.
– Could be released between April 2033 and March 2024.
Documents leak about early agreement plans for Roblox launch in China
Documents from 2017 were leaked, detailing some early agreement plans on the launch of Roblox in China. These included several rules for the platform:
– 3 to 4 hours gaming limit for users.
– Clear separation between international players and the Chinese user base.
– Ban the promotion of polygamy, horror, violence.