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Microsoft Acquires Havok Physics And Animation Middleware From Intel
Microsoft has announced that it has completed acquisition of Intel’s Havok software. You’ve likely seen the logo pop up in a game over the past 15 years, seeing as its been used in more than 600 of them.
In addition to Microsoft’s own Crackdown 3, Havok has been used recently in Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and Sony’s Infamous: Second Son. Microsoft says that the toolset will complement DirectX12, Visual Studio, and Azure cloud services.
Microsoft plans to bring Havok to the cloud as it begins its own work with the tools. “We will continue to innovate for the benefit of development partners,” the company writes. “Part of this innovation will include building the most complete cloud service, which we’ve just started to show through games like Crackdown 3.”
[Source: Microsoft]
Our Take
While innovating on established engines requires an investment of capital, the ubiquitousness of the toolset also means licensing revenue. This is a good get for Microsoft, especially as it has recently recommitted to PC gaming. Hopefully this deal will work out just as well for developers and publishers.
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