Through its surprise sale of Mixer to Facebook, Microsoft sacrifices its streaming platform for a bigger portion of the emerging game-streaming market.
Microsoft’s surprise sale of its Mixer streaming platform to Facebook could be its biggest bet on the next generation of gaming.
By partnering with Facebook — and its 2.38 billion users — Microsoft seems to be subtly positioning itself for the coming battle with Google (and Sony) over game streaming. And it all hints at a much bigger conflict further down the road.
Despite Microsoft’s best efforts, Mixer never really grew into a major player in the streaming market. It launched after Twitch had already amassed a dominant position, and despite spending big to lure personalities like Ninja and Shroud, it couldn’t find a notable base. (Ninja and Shroud’s contracts with the service ended with the sale — and, reportedly, neither opted to sign with Facebook, despite huge financial incentives.) Microsoft could have attempted a reboot with the debut of the Xbox Series X, but instead, it cut its losses and took a longer-term approach.
The launch of new systems from Microsoft and Sony later this year has people thinking about the next round of the console wars. That will be a fun thing for zealots of both systems to argue about for a little while, but many within the industry think the future lies in game streaming.
Google was first to market with a major standalone streaming service. And while Stadia hasn’t set the world on fire yet due to a rocky launch, the company still has plenty of time to work the kinks out.
