Microsoft targets videogame developers, in challenge to Amazon’s cloud dominance

Phil Spencer, Microsoft Corp's Executive Vice President of Gaming, speaks at one of the company's Xbox events in this undated photo released from Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington, U.S. on March 14, 2019. Courtesy Microsoft Corp./Handout via REUTERS

Microsoft Corp on March 14 said it is combining elements of its videogaming and Azure cloud computing businesses to court game developers, an action designed to use the strength of its Xbox gaming franchise to gain ground on cloud services leader Amazon.com.

Microsoft said it will start rolling out "Microsoft Game Stack", a group of services that lets game developers do things like host multiplayer games and match players of similar skill levels. The services are designed to work for titles played on any device – including those with operating systems from Microsoft's onetime rivals like Apple and Google.