Video game developers set for cash influx as tech firms compete for deals

theguardian.com:

Video game developers are champing at the bit ahead of an influx of money from some of the biggest technology companies in the world as they compete to build a “Netflix for games”.

At the centre of the contest are Microsoft and Sony, followed by less gaming-centric companies such as Apple, Amazon and Netflix who have all launched subscription services in an attempt to entice gamers on to their platforms.

Microsoft has spent four years building up its flagship subscription, Xbox Game Pass, which offers unlimited access to more than 100 games for its Xbox family of consoles for a £10.99 monthly fee. In March, Sony announced plans to compete directly with Game Pass with a raft of changes to its PlayStation Plus service, which will eventually launch with 700 titles for £13.49 a month (or £99.99 a year), though largely focused on older titles.

Alongside the two console manufacturers, a host of companies have launched similar services. Apple Arcade, for the iPhone and Apple TV, offers unlimited access to 200-plus mobile games for £4.99 a month; Amazon’s Luna service, currently in early access in the US, lets subscribers stream 100 games for $5.99; and Netflix is experimenting with offering a selection of games for free alongside its movies and TV shows.

The competition has resulted in an influx of cash to the industry. Microsoft, the second richest company in the world, has been on an acquisition spree, buying the Call of Duty and Warcraft publisher Activision Blizzard, the Skyrim developer Bethesda and nine independent studios since 2017 alone. Amazon and Apple, the fourth and first richest companies in the world, have similarly deep pockets. Sony, with a market cap an order of magnitude smaller than the tech titans, has