Ever since the original Xbox console launched on November 15, 2001, Microsoft and Sony have been bitter rivals in the gaming industry. Recent years have seen much of the "console war" attitude dissipate in favor of a more cooperative future between the brands, with the door opened for cross-play between PS4 and Xbox One. This friendlier relationship has culminated in a full-blown partnership between Microsoft and Sony to team up on cloud gaming and streaming, with Sony's future game streaming platforms powered by Microsoft Azure. However, it seems the PlayStation team itself was caught "blindsided" by the news.

This is according to a recent report by Bloomberg about the PlayStation team's reaction to learning about the Microsoft and Sony partnership. According to the report, Sony's senior management began negotiating with Microsoft on the deal "largely without the involvement of the PlayStation unit."

Understandably, there were those working at PlayStation who were worried about teaming with their chief competitor. Sources speaking to Bloomberg said, "Managers had to calm workers and assure them that plans for the company's next-generation console weren't affected" by the deal.

microsoft and sony are teaming up for cloud gaming

At this stage, it's still unclear exactly how far the Microsoft and Sony partnership will go. Based on the initial press release, it sounds like Microsoft is simply powering the PlayStation 5's game streaming service. It doesn't seem as though there will be anything like Microsoft exclusive games appearing on PS5 or vice versa.

Then again, anything's possible. Microsoft has started bringing Xbox Live to platforms other than its Xbox console, with Xbox Live even coming to the Nintendo Switch. It wouldn't be totally out of the question for there to be a future where Xbox's game streaming platform is available on a PlayStation console. In fact, that almost seems like the direction the industry is heading, if Google Stadia, which aims to make games playable on near any device, is any indication.

Since we don't know the full scope of the Microsoft and Sony partnership at this time, it's hard to say exactly how it will impact the industry. We should find out over the next few years, especially after the next-generation consoles are released. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the industry reacts to the news. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer seems to approve of the deal, at least.

Source: Bloomberg