After Xbox and PCs, Microsoft will present to the GDC the extension of its Xbox Live service to other platforms. What to play from any system keeping the same profile, backups, etc.
It is in universal service that Microsoft is transforming its Xbox Live. According to the description of his keynote at the Game Developper Conference (GDC) to be held in San Francisco next March, Microsoft will deploy the tools (SDK) that will allow developers to deploy Xbox Live titles that are not edited by the American giant.
With these tools, the developers who wish will be able to benefit the players from the benefits of the platform of Microsoft - multiplayer, success, profile, social functions, etc. - in their titles. If Microsoft takes control of these functions - as Steam for example - the advantage for publishers, especially independent or small, is not to have to support them from the technical point of view (servers, storage of backups, etc.).
According to the descriptive text of the conference, brought to light by Windows Central , Xbox live wants to move from a fleet of 400 million machines including 68 million active "to over two billion devices with the launch of (their) new SDK multiplate "form".
A free service to push PlayFab
The other tool that Microsoft will highlight during its conference is PlayFab, a "backend" that the software publisher bought in 2018. PlayFab is a suite of tools for development and management of online games that allows publishers to exploit their game (transaction, accounts receivable, etc.). A software suite that runs in the cloud - on Azure of course - and that Microsoft monetizes by charging for different levels of functionality.