Unity has partnered with Microsoft Azure to bring and develop cloud infrastructure to enhance games and other experiences. Microsoft and Unity will also work together to make it easier to build and distribute games on Windows and Xbox platforms, according to the official blog post by Unity GM and VP Marc Whitten and Microsoft corporate VP of gaming partnerships and business development Sarah Bond.
Unity sees numerous opportunities to collaborate with Microsoft Azure to expand cloud capabilities across their ecosystem of tools and services. They will use these capabilities to improve workflows, deliver new functionality, increase reliability, and provide more global access options, among other things.
“We are dedicated to creating native capabilities that unlock our tools for more people than ever so that you can take advantage of the advanced compute, storage and reliability that the cloud offers,” Whitten said.
“We believe that this cloud enablement will make it easy for creators around the world to collaborate seamlessly. It will also allow experiences that wouldn’t be possible if limited to just the local resources of either a creator’s machine or a user’s platform,” said Microsoft Xbox team founding member Whitten.
The Xbox division is key to Azure’s customer win. Bond said, “Our commitment to creators is something we share with our long-time partner, Unity, a global leader in real-time 3D technology. That is why today, Unity has selected Azure as its cloud partner for building and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) experiences from the Unity engine. In addition, we’re excited to work together to make it easier for game creators around the world to publish to Xbox consoles and PC so they can reach their communities.”
The cloud enablement will make it easy for creators around the world to collaborate seamlessly. It will also allow experiences that wouldn’t be possible if limited to just the local resources of either a creator’s machine or a user’s platform. There are already many cloud powered tools and services at Unity. From Unity Game Services, Parsec, DevOps, Wētā Digital, Digital Twins and more. Many of Unity tools are also heavily used already in cloud workflows – from PIXYZ through Unity Headless Rendering. With this partnership, even more of our tools will move to cloud capable, enabling worldwide teams of all scales.