Microsoft opens up cloud functionality to indies with ID@Azure, virtual machines | GDC 2022
James Batchelor
Editor-in-Chief
Wednesday 23rd March 2022
Microsoft
Microsoft has launched two new initiatives that aim to give more developers access to cloud functionality when making video games.
Announced during this week's Game Developers Conference, the first is ID@Azure: a suite of free tools and resources that help developers integrate cloud-based gaming services into their titles, regardless of which platforms they're developing for.
The second is the Azure Game Development Virtual Machine, a cloud-based workstation that is geared specifically towards game production and enables developers to access key tools and services unconstrained by the specs of their machine or their geographical location.
ID@Azure originally began as an invite-only closed beta back in December, but today Microsoft is opening it up to all studios. Examples of functions enabled by Azure, including game server hosting, multiplayer networking and matchmaking, collecting data and analytics on player behaviour, live operations and in-game economies.
The tech giant gave GamesIndustry.biz a pre-GDC briefing on the program last week, with Azure's director of product marketing Bryan Saftler responding to some follow-up questions via email.
Bryan Saftler, Microsoft
"Our objective is to empower game creators," he told us when asked why Microsoft is making these tools freely available. "To do that, we need to lower barriers and ensure equitable access to resources wherever possible. For independent developers, using cloud services can be daunting. By making ID@Azure free, we hope more developers see this as an invitation to experience the potential of what the cloud can do for their game."
He adds: "Whether you're a single player mobile game looking to
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