PlayStation is seemingly making some big plays in the cloud gaming market.
As spotted by The Verge, the gaming giant is currently hiring for 22 roles related to cloud gaming technology. Interestingly, one particular job — director of product management for cloud gaming — will specifically be to “develop and deliver the strategic vision for cloud game streaming at PlayStation,” notes The Verge.
However, clicking on that link leads to a message that says “the job you are looking for is no longer open.” It’s unclear whether Sony took it down to try to maintain a lower profile on its cloud gaming efforts or if it’s actually somehow filled the role in the short time since The Verge originally published its story.
What is still live, though, is a variety of positions related to Sony’s Future Technology Group (FTG), at which the company says employees will have “the opportunity to lead the charge in the cloud gaming revolution.” Sony adds that FTG is at the “forefront of putting console-quality video games on any device,” which is, of course, one of the main use cases for streaming. As The Verge notes, FTG isn’t exclusively focused on cloud — it contributes to VR, controllers and other tech — it’s nonetheless citing cloud gaming as a major goal.
What should also be considered is that this news comes shortly after reports that Sony is working on a new cloud-based gaming handheld. This portable is reportedly based on Remote Play — PlayStation’s console-to-mobile streaming feature — but sport its own HD screen on a DualSense-esque gamepad.
All of this comes over a decade after Sony acquired cloud tech company Gaikai for $380 million USD (roughly $511.6 million CAD) with the intent of creating its own game streaming service. The company would eventually launch PlayStation Now, which allows select games from older PlayStation generations stream on their modern counterparts. Last year, Sony merged PS Now with PlayStation Plus under a new service that kept the Plus branding.
During all of this, a variety of other companies have been investing in the cloud gaming space. For a few years, Google had its Stadia service, although that shuttered in January. Amazon also has its Luna service, which recently expanded into Canada and other markets after being U.S.-only. Meanwhile, Nvidia offers its GeForce Now service for PC games. Even Netflix is working on its own cloud gaming platform.
But Sony’s most direct competitor across the board is, undoubtedly, Microsoft. The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant has been slowly expanding its own streaming efforts through Xbox Cloud Gaming, which lets Xbox games be streamed to console, PC, mobile and even smart TVs. Ultimately, it’s unclear what, exactly, are PlayStation’s own ambitions are for cloud gaming.
Via: The Verge
