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Azure PlayFab and Xbox better together

Azure PlayFab and Xbox have joined forces to empower game developers to use PlayFab Matchmaking and PlayFab Party at no cost when used by an Xbox network authenticated player. This offer extends to all platforms where the Xbox network is supported today, including the Xbox, PC, iOS, or Android.

PlayFab Matchmaking is a powerful, highly-customizable matchmaking service developers can use to help players find and join compelling multiplayer matches. PlayFab Party delivers real-time device-to-device networking, text chat, and voice chat while seamlessly integrating Azure Speech Services to enable text-to-speech and speech-to-text accessibility functionality. Xbox services allow developers to integrate friends lists, achievements, and cloud saves into games on virtually any device, along with a COPPA and GDPR compliant identity for players.

Together, these Microsoft Game Stack services allow developers to build multiplayer games with matchmaking and communication capabilities that are fully compliant with Xbox Network Integration Policies. They also support players who want to log in with alternative identities such as Steam. Starting today, any Matchmaking or Party activity generated by Xbox authenticated players is completely free; developers pay only for service use by their non-Xbox authenticated players.

Microsoft is committed to helping game developers form meaningful communities with their players with easy to integrate capabilities that are biased towards inclusion. Cross-platform multiplayer, voice and chat communication, accessibility, and translation are all technologies that bring players together. This partnership will help developers of all sizes build compelling multiplayer games that connect people no matter where they play.

To learn more about how PlayFab Matchmaking and PlayFab Party can work for your game, please see our technical documentation here. For more information and pricing behavior, see our FAQ.

PlayFab is a complete backend platform for games, that combines multiplayer features like Matchmaking and Party with additional multiplayer features like game server hosting and leaderboards – all part of a LiveOps suite that includes additional capabilities like game telemetry, automation, content management, and in-game commerce. To learn more about PlayFab, or to create your free account, visit PlayFab.com.