Even though Microsoft is plenty big in Iowa, it will be expanding its data services in the state even further by spending $700 million on a new data centre that “supports the growing demand for Microsoft’s cloud services” according to a statement by general manager of data centre services Chris Belady to the Des Moines Register. The total amount Microsoft has spent so far on its expansion in Iowa is already totaling $1 billion at this point.
The data centre’s main purpose will be to support a number of Cloud services but Xbox Live will be the main factor. Microsoft has already revealed that it will be upping its server count to 300,000 from the default 15,000 currently in use for Xbox Live and if nothing else, this reflects that they’re taking the necessary steps to have it happen.
We’ll see how it plays out when the Xbox One launches, especially since there will now be no periodic check-ins required. If anything, it will give it a leg-up over the PlayStation 4’s Gaikai service.