@Tysonie1 @The_CrapGamer Azure services are available to any game, even other platform's exclusives. We wouldn't keep someone from using.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) December 19, 2015

https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/678345711398686720?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

The power of the cloud now available on PS4 ...

To be fair, Azure is not exclusively for gaming. It is supposed to be a multi-use system that just happens to incorporate functionality that works with cloud gaming. By turning it into an exclusive, closed platform, they limit its uses in other fields.

Edit: Just to make it clear, Microsoft Azure is about five years old now, and has been incorporated into many major sites and services with server farms all over the world dedicated to the service. It is something that the use of can be purchased for, and has actually been incorporated into the Xbox online infrastructure since the 360, among many other uses not at all related to gaming. Although yet another use has been found for it, it is way too late and a huge step backwards to consider limiting the use of it. Microsoft is trying to expand Azure, and the idea of cloud based gaming is simply another step in proving its usefulness on a larger scale.

The only reason I see the question even being asked is because Azure was being tossed around as some buzzword after details on Crackdown 3 were revealed as if it would suddenly be Microsoft's ace in the hole, coming out of nowhere to change gaming forever. Amazing what you can learn spending even 60 seconds skimming the Wikipedia article for it that makes the shallow necessity for continuing the worthless console war seem even more ridiculous.

It's available to anyone (even you), for any client platform (since it operates on the server side), for just about any type of network-enabled application.

The reason you don't hear about more game developers using Azure (or Amazon Web Services for that matter) is that it's generally less cost effective (in terms of performance/price, not maintenance) than leasing some of their own dedicated servers.

I really do like Spencer, he seems far more inclined to cut through as much of the BS as possible, within reason of course, and have to give full props for him just coming out and saying it. In theory he could have just kept his mouth shut without technically speaking falsely, especially given how easily it could have been waved off as 'I just didn't see the tweet!' Instead, he took the time to set the record straight, and that's refreshing when the industry seems so comfy with downplaying, vague evasions, and PR talk.

As for it being available to all titles, I'm more surprised that, again, this was outright confirmed than I am that it's the case. Microsoft is more than just Xbox, and ultimately it'll act in whatever way will benefit the company as a whole, rather than just that division. I.e., the fact that they're sharing more exclusives on PC, and even the fact that they seem to be planning to use Minecraft to make money, (with the platform-freedom that comes with,) rather than leveraging it as Microsoft-platform exclusive. Heck, there's even a Wii U release now! =P

But as said before, I quite like Spencer, and this is certainly interesting news. Curious as to whether any publishers (or even the other two platform owners) have thoughts about trying their hand with cloud computing on Azure. There might be sort of a collective wait-and-see attitude to see how it pans out with Crackdown.

We've known for a while,  he's said as much when the systems launched

Good guy MS. Atleast they share

What is azure?

inb4 a tweet in a few days time to inform Nintendo gamers that the secret sauce is not coming to Wii-U.

But yeah tho... if you can use a browser on a console to navigate to say Word Online you're using a piece of Azure hardware, it's not the same as cloud assisted gameplay tho.

Phil did specifically mention "game".