Microsoft has made yet another acquisition, this time in the industry of 3D physics and visual effects, via Intel's Havok.
The company announced this via the official blog, stating that the plan is to continue working with developer in making development tools for its partners. The acquisition undoubtedly bolstered Microsoft's tech portfolio, adding to its plans its next-gen console Xbox One. Currently, it is already looking at and working with DirectX 12 and Microsoft Azure to bring the power of the cloud and computation into the Xbox One.
Microsoft did reveal that the acquisition is one of the steps needed in completing its overall plan of innovation. This includes bringing a complete cloud service to its fans, such as in the case of "Crackdown 3."
However, it is also good to note that despite being a gaming tech company, Havok's capabilities go beyond gaming. Earlier this year, Havok had announced that it has a new product, Havok FX, VentureBeat reported. The new product is involved with the creation of visual effects that is lighter on the CPU and 3D gaming worlds. In addition, the technology will make use of the main processor instead of graphical chips, to be of use on next-gen consoles and the PC.
To date, Havok has already created more than 600 games. The acquisition could allow Microsoft to gain access to this technology and enable more efficient solutions for a better gaming experience on the Xbox One.
This is not the first big acquisition that the company has done. Over a year ago, "Minecraft" developer Mojang has announced that it is being bought by Microsoft for $2.5 billion. This had proven to be quite a controversial move for the developer, as the acquisition has been labeled as a buyout.
A year after, however, "Minecraft" has received the "Windows 10 edition." Microsoft has also been continuously voicing out its plans for expanding the Minecraft Education arm of the game. However, no plans for a "Minecraft 2.0" have been revealed.