All these companies are investing heavily in technology as they look to create what is being described as a “Netflix for games”.
Microsoft has developed the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which offers unlimited access to more than 100 games for its Xbox family of consoles, while Sony is planning a similar service for PlayStation.
A brace of news services has been launched by the likes of Apple, with the Apple Arcade for the iPhone and Apple TV and Amazon’s Luna service; while Netflix is working on providing a selection of games that will be offered for free alongside its traditional movies and TV shows.
The gaming industry is benefitting from an influx of money and Microsoft has been spending heavily on acquiring gaming developers such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda and a host of independent studios.
All the big tech players have substantial sums to invest, and this new business model has been welcomed by developers as games offered as part of a subscription service will help to greatly reduce the risk of launching new titles.
While a subscription-based service has generally been welcomed there are concerns that should one platform dominate, then developers could be left vulnerable and see their payments cut.
It’s not as if the tech giants haven’t got a record when it comes to paying for content, but in the short term these moves are set to give the gaming industry an immense boost.