The impressive cloud technology that is powering the dynamic multiplayer mode in Microsoft’s upcoming open world action adventure game, Crackdown 3, could some day possibly come to non-Microsoft platforms as well as the technology is open to all, according to co-founder Maurizio Sciglio. Sciglio is the CEO and co-founder of Cloudgine, the company that is providing the technology that is powering the cloud based processing in Crackdown 3, and GamingBolt had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with him recently.
“Crackdown 3 is our first priority now, and we want to ensure that the experience on Xbox One is the best it can be. However, like I said, Cloudgine is a server-side technology so there is no restriction on clients connecting to our platform,” Sciglio said. Does this mean that the technology could come to any number of platforms in the future? May be, but time will tell.
Sciglio also differentiated between the cloud technology as it is in Crackdown 3, and the Gaikai powered cloud streaming service for PS3 video games that Sony provides via PS Now, stating that Cloudgine allows for emergent, unprecedented experiences that no other cloud solution on the market is capable of, including PS Now, if only because none of the games on these platforms were actually designed for the cloud from the ground up. “At Cloudgine we believe the real added value of a cloud-assisted model comes from the truly new and ground breaking experiences that additional compute power enables,” he said.“Experiences, as demonstrated in games like Crackdown 3, otherwise impossible to achieve in a game that was not designed specifically to take advantage of this new paradigm.”
I can see his point- the cloud in the case of PS Now is a delivery mechanism, but that is really all it is- a delivery mechanism. The games are not cloud assisted. This is not like what Microsoft and Cloudgine are promising with Crackdown 3- which, if it comes to pass, would truly lead to the next paradigm shift in video gaming.