Game over! Microsoft will shut down its Twitch rebuttal, Mixer and merge with Facebook Gaming after struggling to compete
- Microsoft will end its Twitch-style game streaming service Mixer
- It will migrate partners and users to Facebook gaming
- The partnership will help promote Microsoft’s xCloud service
Microsoft announced an expedited shutdown of its Twitch competitor Mixer which will close up shop next month.
Microsoft says that it’s closing Mixer on July 22nd and will transition all of its partners to Facebook Gaming immediately.
According to the company, its decision was fueled by a lack of demand for the service, especially in the face of competitors like Amazon’s Twitch and YouTube.
Microsoft’s xCloud is the company’s first-ever game-streaming service and started its testing phase in the US, UK, and Korea lat year
‘We started pretty far behind, in terms of where Mixer’s monthly active viewers were compared to some of the big players out there,’ Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s head of gaming, told The Verge.
‘I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has.’
Microsoft will transition users and partners over the next several weeks and customers with credit or outstanding Mixer subscriptions will be credited with Xbox gift cards.
In addition to lack of demand, The Verge notes that Microsoft’s decision to partner with Facebook Gaming is likely strategic.
The move could help set up Microsoft’s cloud gaming service, xCloud find an audience by offering xCloud games through the platform.
In an expansion of a beta test for Microsoft’s cloud-based game streaming earlier this year, users on iOS can play Xbox games that are traditionally only available on their home consoles using their iPhones and iPads.
As noted by The Verge, the introduction of xCloud to the iOS ecosystem is the first time a cloud gaming service has appeared on the operating system since OnLive, an app-base cloud gaming service, nearly 10 years ago.
It’s not clear exactly when xCloud will be available on Facebook Gaming, but the service is expected to launch in full later this year.