Microsoft’s Developing Four Free-to-Play Games

Microsoft is currently developing four free-to-play games at its Lift London studio for mobile, tablets and other connected devices.

Lee Schuneman, formerly of Rare and now head of Lift, told the Develop conference in Brighton today that all of the games are "powered by the cloud" and "working across all Microsoft platforms."

Presumably this means the games will be available on Xbox 360, or more likely Xbox One, with heavy SmartGlass integration.

Lift London employs over 40 people and was revealed by Microsoft executive Phil Harrison in January this year. The studio's focus is entirely on creating new IP for connected platforms.

Schuneman adds that a 21st century audience needs to rethink the definition of AAA gaming and what it actually refers to.

While AAA is usually associated with big-budget games for core audiences on console and PC Schuneman says, "AAA is not about team size, or budget, or what device it's on."

Instead he believes AAA is "about quality and audience scale. Clash of Clans is AAA. Halo is AAA."

Schuneman added that modern game development is "about how you represent your audience and generate content that's culturally relevant."

Source: GameSpot.