14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most impressive videos that Microsoft showed during the Gamescom 2015 event is the gameplay-filled trailer for Crackdown 3, which was designed to show the kind of complex physical effects that could be created using the new Xbox Cloud tech.
Reagent Games and the platform holder have managed to significantly increase the power of the platform by using servers to power some of the mechanics linked to destruction and physics.
This means that Crackdown 3 will have more complexity than a team could create by only relying on the core hardware of the Xbox One.
And it seems that Phil Spencer, who leads the gaming division at Microsoft, wants to make sure that third-party developers will quickly adopt the same technology to improve their own titles.
According to his Twitter account, innovation could move more quickly if more video games use a particular tech and teams get to explore its boundaries and share information about how it can be best used.
It's unclear whether the Xbox Cloud tech can be used regardless of the game engine a video game is using.
Crackdown 3 will be created using the Unreal Engine 4 from Epic Games.
The cloud is still an unreliable solution
The problem with a video game that relies on the cloud is that some of its features might be unavailable when the player is not connected to the internet or when the service itself is down because of problems with the infrastructure.
At the moment, both Sony and Microsoft sometimes have trouble keeping the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live services up without interruptions.
When Crackdown 3 launches, the title will serve as a big test for the reliability of the Xbox Cloud concept.
If the game is successful and delivers improved performance because of the new tech, then more companies will probably adopt it in order to boost the gameplay of their own titles.
A Crackdown 3 multiplayer beta will be offered on the Xbox One, and the home console will get the entire mode in the summer of 2016.
It's unclear whether the development team is also planning to offer a classic single-player campaign.
@Dipslon I hope so, I'd like to see 3rd parties pick up the tech as well. Innovation moves more quickly as more games push what's possible.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 10, 2015