Google partners with Improbable to support next generation of video games

Nan Boden, Head of Global Technology Partners, Google Cloud
Google Cloud’s guiding philosophy is to enable what’s next, and gaming is one industry that’s constantly pushing what’s possible with technical innovation. At Google, we are no stranger to these advancements, from AlphaGo’s machine learning breakthrough to Pokemon GO’s achievements in scaling and mapping on GCP.

We are always seeking new partners who share our enthusiasm for innovation, and today we are announcing a partnership with Improbable, a company focused on building large-scale, complex online worlds through their gaming operating system, SpatialOS. As part of the partnership, Improbable is launching the SpatialOS Games Innovation Program, which provides game developers with credits to access Improbable’s technology powered by GCP and the freedom to get creative and experiment with what’s possible up until they launch the game. Today, game developers can join the SpatialOS open alpha, and start to prototype, test and deploy games to the cloud. The program will fully launch in Q1 2017, along with the SpatialOS beta.

SpatialOS allows game developers to create simulations of great scale (a single, highly detailed world can span hundreds of square miles), great complexity (millions of entities governed by realistic physics) and huge populations (thousands of players sharing the same world). These exciting new games are possible with SpatialOS plus the scalability, reliability and openness of GCP, including the use of Google Cloud Datastore’s fully managed NoSQL database and Google Compute Engine’s internal network, instance uptime, live migration and provisioning speed.

Bossa Studios is already using SpatialOS and GCP to build Worlds Adrift, a 3D massively multiplayer game set to launch in early 2017. In Worlds Adrift, thousands of players share a single world of floating islands that currently cover more than 1000km². Players form alliances, build sky-ships and become scavengers, explorers, heroes or pirates in an open, interactive world. They can steal ships and scavenge wrecks while the islands’ flora and fauna can flourish and decline over time.

A collision of two fully customized ships flying through the procedurally generated and persistent universe of Worlds Adrift. Read about the game’s origin story and technical details of its physics.

We see many opportunities for GCP to support developers building next-generation games and look forward to what game studios large and small will create out of our partnership with Improbable. To join the SpatialOS open alpha or learn more about the developer program visit SpatialOS.com.

Quelle: Google Cloud Platform

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