The two firms have a long history of partnership with Monday's announcement coming after a string of critically acclaimed recent releases from Sega including in the 'Persona' and 'Total War' series. Japan, the world's third-largest gaming market and a major innovator in the industry, remains a weak spot for the Redmond, Washington-based firm. 'By working with Microsoft to anticipate such trends as they accelerate further in future, the goal is to optimise development processes and continue to bring high-quality experiences to players using Azure cloud technologies,' Sega said.Ī bid for 'Sonic the Hedgehog' publisher Sega by Microsoft has been rumoured for decades. Deep-pocketed Microsoft's push into the nascent sector comes as Xbox is widely seen as being on the backfoot in the console battle with Sony's PlayStation. Microsoft's own major cloud gaming initiative is available via the Xbox Game Pass, a cross-platform subscription service that features Sega titles such as the hit 'Yakuza' series.Ĭloud gaming cuts ties to bulky hardware but requires a fast internet connection.

Sonic the hedgehog poses