Microsoft has launched a number of services for the Azure cloud computing service
Microsoft has announced that it will launch several new programs and services for game developers to encourage them to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service to develop games. The first is the new Azure Game Development Virtual Machine, which allows developers to test and develop games in a production environment. These virtual machines come pre-installed with development tools such as Unreal Engine, Perforce, Incredibuild, Visual Studio, and Blender, as well as SDKs such as Microsoft Game Development Kit, PlayFab, and DirectX that save game developers time installing and deploying these tools.
Of course, some game developers have specific requirements for the development environment, so they can also build a special development environment by using a customized game development virtual machine.
In addition to the game development virtual machine, Microsoft also announced that its ID@Azure project is now publicly available, no longer only open to invited users. This project is based on the previous ID@Xbox which allows independent game developers to publish digital versions of their games on the Xbox One.
Like ID@Xbox, ID@Azure’s goal is to provide game developers with the tools and infrastructure they need to create games that run on any platform. At the same time, ID@Azure also includes a series of supporting measures such as $5,000 worth of Azure credits, two-year access to the Azure PlayFab standard package, code samples from GitHub, training modules, and Azure Quick Response.
On the one hand, these new services can facilitate developers to use various tools to develop games on the cloud, and on the other hand, they can also allow Microsoft to continue to improve their cloud computing services, which can be said to be a win-win situation.
