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Microsoft And Sony Bury The Hatchet, Start Gaming & Cloud Service Partnership

Remember when Magneto and Professor X — the two biggest rivals in Marvel’s X-Men — teamed up to defeat Apocalypse in the Four Horsemen saga in the comics? The same can be said for Microsoft and Sony.

The rivalry between the two gaming and tech giants dates is immense, especially over the last few generations of consoles in what many christen as the “Console Wars”.

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It seems this time they’ve decided to set their differences aside for the greater good of the industry.

This was revealed in a joint statement by the two companies released earlier this week. The announcement details a new partnership between Microsoft and Sony, and will focus on “game and content streaming services.”

The wording in both statements is very carefully curated, curiously leaving out specific mentions of Xbox or PlayStation (sans quotes from the two companies’ bosses), but instead using ambiguous terms to front their intentions.

Microsoft will lend its Azure AI technology to boost cloud-based services, which will then enable Sony to project its entertainment and gaming venues to Azure’s datacentres.

Cross-Play for games aside, this marks the first time the two are truly collaborating for the gaming and tech industry as a whole.

(From Left) Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida & Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

“PlayStation itself came about through the integration of creativity and technology,” said Sony’s president and CEO, Kenichiro Yoshida. “For many years, Microsoft has been a key business partner for us, though of course the two companies have also been competing in some areas. I believe that our joint development of future cloud solutions will contribute greatly to the advancement of interactive content.”

“Sony has always been a leader in both entertainment and technology, and the collaboration we announced today builds on this history of innovation,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Our partnership brings the power of Azure and Azure AI to Sony to deliver new gaming and entertainment experiences for customers.”

Nothing specific has been announced as of yet, but we can expect something to come out of events such as E3 2019 or Gamescom 2019.