Microsoft’s Arcadia could let users stream games and apps to Windows

Since the arrival of streaming services for gaming such as Onlive and Gaikai in the late 2000s, we’ve seen Sony as a very active participant in the field by purchasing Gaikai and bringing gaming to the cloud. Though Sony’s PlayStation Now hasn’t gotten much use and attention yet, letting PS4 and PS3 gamers play PS3 titles via the cloud, Microsoft as a streaming game service is not staying far behind, it seems.

According to a ZDNET post, various sources say Microsoft is working on a new streaming service based on its Azure cloud service called Arcadia (a Halo reference), which will work with games and apps. With development from the company’s Operating Systems Group, Arcadia replaces the previous streaming technology known internally as Rio.

According to another source, bringing Android apps and games via streaming to Windows Phone and Windows would be possible. Unfortunately, Microsoft has discontinued this idea for now.

A job post on Microsoft Careers shows the company is looking for a senior software engineer to work on the Arcadia team.

[Q]: Could this mean Microsoft is working on bringing Xbox 360 games to the Xbox One and other devices the same way Sony does with PS3 titles on the PS4? We can only hope.

[Source]: ZDNet: Microsoft’s ‘Arcadia’ team is building a streaming app and game service.