Microsoft has just announced a new collaboration between Xbox Game Studios and TiMi, the Tencent subsidiary that currently holds the title of the world’s largest developer, with a “strategic partnership” that will allow them to create new games together.
Unfortunately, the information shared by both companies barely goes beyond the agreement itself, although it would not be surprising if Microsoft is looking to expand its ecosystem with a greater presence in the mobile sector.
And is that TiMi is highly recognized for its work in the field of mobile games, with great successes such as Honor Of Kings, Arena Of Valor, or Call of Duty: Mobile, as well as future projects already underway as the next Pokemon Unite (also expected for Nintendo Switch) and a triple-A shooter that will use Unreal Engine 5 on different platforms (about which we also do not know details).
So, when we stop to think about the huge number of games and franchises of Xbox Game Studios, in addition to its recent acquisition of ZeniMax, with the “partial exclusivity” of some of Bethesda’s titles, names like Halo, Minecraft, Fallout, Forza, Wolfenstein or DOOM do not take long to come out. And there is no doubt that any of these titles could greatly benefit from a partnership and combination of the development methods of East and West, posing a really interesting prospect for gamers around the world.
Although it seems more likely that this partnership will focus on Microsoft’s entry into the hermetic Chinese market. And is that Tencent has previously shown itself open to act as an intermediary for the entry of other foreign companies, as we saw with its customized version of Steam or its Nintendo Switch distribution agreement, currently selling the portable console above that the PS4 and Xbox One. A success that Microsoft may now want to replicate with the Xbox X Series, especially after the recent arrival of PS5 in this market.
