Satya Nadella: MS Is “Doubling Down” As Game Producer and Publisher
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the company intends to double down on gaming.
In an interview with Business Insider, Satya was asked about the recently closed purchase of Activision Blizzard King. Satya said that gaming was an important market for Microsoft, and then he said this:
“We’re looking forward to really doubling down both as a game producer and publisher.”
Microsoft has gone through a messy, complicated road to get where they are in gaming. Their ascent actually started slowly, with the mass adoption of DOS and IBM computers in the 1980s to early 1990s. Windows 1995 was the breakout OS, trumping Apple and a host of smaller competitors with bespoke OSes, such as Commodore, Atari, etc.
While Microsoft was right to make Windows an open platform, increasing the popularity of PCs by making them a gaming and productivity platform, they sent mixed messages when they entered the console industry with the Xbox, a closed system not entirely compatible with Windows programs.
Windows would continue to be the gaming OS of choice for five decades, but Microsoft would fail to capitalize on emerging trends, seeing Valve launch Steam and not properly respond to it in time with their own storefront.
Many of Microsoft’s gaming initiatives through the years, such as Games for Windows Live, Windows Mobile, and Universal Windows Platform, would falter for one reason or another. Their Xbox business has been more successful, but has seen its share of ebbs and flows.
Today, Microsoft has built a unified PC and console platform through Game Pass. They have successfully transitioned to live service games with Halo Infinite, and also invested in cloud gaming.
Their acquisition of Activision Blizzard King follows their acquisition of
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