SEGA and Microsoft have announced they will be teaming up in a “strategic alliance” for some new gaming ventures.

As detailed in a press release, this new strategic alliance will allow SEGA to explore creating “large scale global games” using Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Although the specifics were kept vague, one of these plans involves “Super Game”, an initiative to create “new and innovative titles” with emphasis on “Global”, “Online”, “Community” and “IP utilization”.

….video games continue to grow as a major medium for gamers globally, with access to a vast range of gaming experiences and communities becoming more diverse and attainable. This proposed alliance represents SEGA looking ahead, and by working with Microsoft to anticipate such trends as they accelerate further in future, the goal is to optimise development processes and continue to bring high-quality experiences to players using Azure cloud technologies.

Microsoft and SEGA have agreed upon the foundation for this alliance and through mutual cooperation, will look to build futher technological evolutions with areas such as the network infrastructure and communication tools required for global online services being a key priority. Additionally, by shifting to a next-generation development platform, SEGA can effectively adapt to diversfying work styles and potential infrastructural changes.

Regarding the new alliance, Yukio Sugino, President and COO of SEGA, and Sarah Bond, CVP of Microsoft had this to say:

Yukio Sugino, President and COO, SEGA Corporation

“We are very pleased to announce today that we are considering a strategic alliance with Microsoft to help develop SEGA’s new ‘Super Game’ initiative as well as build a next-generation game development environment. 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.”

Sarah Bond, CVP, Microsoft Corporation

“SEGA has played such an iconic role in the gaming industry and has been a tremendous partner over the years. 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.”

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