Over the course of the past few months, tech giants like Google have announced their plan to build their own gaming platform that is built into the cloud. While this certainly bodes well for mainstream and hardcore gamers, another tech giant from the other side of the world is taking a different route. Tencent recently announced that it is throwing a huge investment towards Antstream, a U.K.-based startup that plans to build its own gaming on the cloud platform, but with one particular point of interest - it will focus on retro games.
According to Antstream, its platform will cater to a particular niche of gamers - retro gaming enthusiasts. While this genre of gaming is not exactly as huge as that of the mainstream and triple-A gaming community, it has some of the most dedicated fans and enthusiasts.
Antstream claims that its cloud gaming platform will give its users access to a library consisting of more than 2,000 classic and retro video games. This bold, although quite unprecedented move, has caught the eyes of huge investment companies and one Chinese tech giant - Tencent. The Chinese tech giant recently confirmed that it had invested in Antstream. Another prominent company to invest in the startup is Hambro Perks.
According to Antstream CEO Steve Cottam, he aims to resurrect classic retro games from early computing devices like the Amiga and the Commodore 64.
In an interview, Mr. Cottam said, "You've got Spotify and Apple for your music, while in movies you've got Netflix and Amazon. It's so easy to find that content, but games just got lost because of all these different formats, and they didn't work on modern devices."
Usually, gamers and enthusiasts need to scour archives in order to get their hands into a gaming cartridge, since this is the only medium that can be used to play these retro games. Another option is to use a console emulator. However, there is no single business or company that acts as a centralized repository wherein users can simply log in and play these classic retro games directly. This is where Antstream comes into play.
Anstream did not disclose the exact investment from Tencent. However, rumors claim that it is a substantial amount. Antstream services are now active in Europe, and the company plans to expand its services into the United States before the end of the year.
Tencent is widely regarded as one of the world's largest gaming companies. Notable games on its portfolio are "League of Legends," and it also has a stake in "Fortnite."
