While NVIDIA's PhysX has only some limited PC support

Oct 5, 2015 15:26 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has just acquired Havok Physics from Intel, and now has the license rights for the industry's most popular in-game physics API.

To fully put the new acquisition to good use, Microsoft intends to add Havok's IP to its existing tools and platforms, and most importantly to DirectX 12. Visual Studio and Azure are also part of Microsoft's plan to integrate the new gaming API via cloud-based gaming.

And since Microsoft announced in September that Azure would use NVIDIA's GRID virtualization platform, it is very likely that Havok will also be part of Microsoft's plan for future cloud services.

Apparently, Havok will remain accessible to all its existing licensees and partners, including gaming giants like Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, and Sony. Besides great names like these, a huge catalog of more than 600 AAA cross-platform games use the Havok API. Some of these names are Halo, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Destiny, Dark Souls, and The Elder Scrolls.

When it comes to the cloud gaming service, Microsoft plans to have it enhanced with Havok-ready games like “Crackdown 3.”

NVIDIA's PhysX is now in one difficult offside position

However, the question remains: why did Intel want to get rid of Havok? Well, speculation is aplenty, but clearly it didn't have either the manpower or the special brains to make the IP grow and to earn more money than what it already did by simply licensing it. This could be a serious blow to NVIDIA, though, as the company will now see its PhysX initiative go down the drain.

AMD enjoys knowing that PC users will use Havok en masse and eagerly awaits to have it integrated with Microsoft's DirectX 12. Why? Because the API's massive presence is in the console world and that's where AMD dominates, since there is some Red Team hardware in every console.

It will be interesting to see how Microsoft will manage this new precious and lucrative IP, and more importantly how NVIDIA will deal with the growing failure that PhysX is turning out to be.