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Microsoft to create a 300,000 player multiplayer game photo

Microsoft wants an experienced developer for what will probably end up as either the biggest flop in videogame multiplayer history or the best thing ever -- an Xbox 360 game that will allow 300,000 players simultaneously. Seriously.

The plans for this mysterious title were extracted from a job posting by Microsoft (spotted by Develop) which reads, “We are building an extremely high performance system to extend console games to the server in new was; creating a completely new set of web services to support dynamic programming information of games and scheduling data.”

The engineer will be responsible for “building a backend capable of hosting a 300,000 player game in real-time with real money on the line (anti-cheating, etc).”

Call us crazy, but this sounds like a future Xbox LIVE Primetime title. Think a massive, real-time digital poker tournament similar to the World Series of Poker. Or, as Kotaku notes, it could be a cross-platform Halo project. Either way, this thing is going to be big. Eat your heart out, MAG.

[image via Shasta Film Fest]


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32 comments | showing # 1 to 32

MrSadistic's Avatar
MrSadistic at 05/30/2009 20:02
It's called an MMOG.
Furyfire's Avatar
Furyfire at 05/30/2009 20:02
Holy Crap.

Screw those 64 player maps on ps3... we got 300k! XD
Monodi's Avatar
Monodi at 05/30/2009 20:02
I foresee some nuclearly epic lag.
JLanphear's Avatar
JLanphear at 05/30/2009 20:09
This is more than likely some sort of Xbox Primetime game. I wonder what it could be. . . the poker thing seems pretty likely. But dedicating that kind of power to an online poker game seems. . . moronic.
Black Nexus's Avatar
Black Nexus at 05/30/2009 20:11
300,000 is a massive number of simultaneous players in real-time. Most MMOs use multiple servers to distribute their higher quantity of players. The only single-server game, EVE Online, has 300,000 players total - but only ever had over 50,000 playing in real-time at once.

so with this in mind I'd like to say, that ain't happening.
PhazonYoshi's Avatar
PhazonYoshi at 05/30/2009 20:19
Detox, there is no explosive material inside an xbox 360, and if there were, it would not cause an error message from a completely different product to display.

In any case, the processing brute force behind this would be serverside, not clientside, the 360 itself would run normally (unless they attempted some sort of distributed computation, which I can't see working myself. Any case, I can't imagine this is going to be an FPS, or an RPG. I think Xbox Snooker! or Xbox cards! is more likely.
Patriot SE's Avatar
Patriot SE at 05/30/2009 20:20
Destructoid is racist. That picture portrays African American males in a poor light. I demand the removal. K Thanx Bai!
SidewaysMatty's Avatar
SidewaysMatty at 05/30/2009 20:27
"with real money one the line" does sound a lot like its just a gambling service like online poker or something.

But it also would not surprise me if its some sort of action game and Microsoft will then start the "you suck Sony" marketing/fanboy propoganda because of what they're doing with MAG.
rel123's Avatar
rel123 at 05/30/2009 20:27
Yeah there is no way this is going to be as cool as it could be... Right?
Dennen's Avatar
Dennen at 05/30/2009 20:41
This sounds like all the two companies are doing is nothing but a bunch of shallow dickwaving. "You're making a game with a lot of players?! Well we'll make a game with a lot of player too then! EVEN MORE! BECAUSE MY GAME CAN SUPPORT MORE PLAYERS THAN YOURS!" Nyaa nyaaa nyaaaa.

Fucking ridiculous, I say. A shame to both Sony and Microsoft for making pointless games that focus more on the amount of people that can connect before gameplay. At this point we can almost guarantee that not only this "game" but also MAG will both be a couple failures due to a game being developed for all the wrong reasons.

A pox on both of them. I hope they both fail so the companies can learn to put cash toward development in the future, instead of exclusives and bragging rights through hype.
everybodyruns's Avatar
everybodyruns at 05/30/2009 20:49
This would be in no way unachievable. It would just have to be applied to some kind of asynchronous game like cards or some kind of business/ economy simulation. Really, anything which doesn't require user input multiple times per second. I'm pretty sure 300,000 people won't be walking around at the same time.
Zeno's Avatar
Zeno at 05/30/2009 21:02
Someone explain to me how what they have described is different from a MMOG.
Chronic Logic's Avatar
Chronic Logic at 05/30/2009 21:13
So it's just a really big server? Okay, what kind of game would need to be that big on Xbox Live. Is this going to be for 1 vs 100? Anyways, sure 300000 sounds like a lot, but I'm sure it's possible, I mean look at Eve Online has 50000 simultenous players. So multiply that by six...yea, that's still a long way to go. Good luck to them, cause they'll need it.

MMOG does not need to house a lot of players. It's a misnomer. MMOG are persistent servers.
MellowBunny's Avatar
MellowBunny at 05/30/2009 21:14
And I'll be putting my mic on mute all the way.
Wedge's Avatar
Wedge at 05/30/2009 21:37
110% guarantee they are not talking about a "game" in the sense most of you would be thinking...
Volomon's Avatar
Volomon at 05/30/2009 21:40
Sounds like a poker game...don't get your hopes up. Fits with MS greed.

Most likely this is what it is as the average MMO using the highest end servers can still only hold a few thousand. Unless they are using the word simultaneous extremely loosely for media blitz.
Korolev's Avatar
Korolev at 05/30/2009 21:41
They're not saying what kind of game it is. Probably something LIKE an MMO - although what kind of MMO it would be, is anyone's guess. A shooter MMO? that's been done before. A WOW style MMO? Possible, I guess, and that would be interesting for the MMO crowd. A "home" like product? I don't think many would want that.

Assuming that this project gets of the ground, there's too little information to decide if it's good or bad or make any judgement at all. At least Microsoft is being a ambitious, which is always a good thing. Although if they think they can challenge the iron grip that Blizzard have on the MMO scene, they are sadly mistaken.
Wedge's Avatar
Wedge at 05/30/2009 21:45
And that header image is freaking me out.
Electro Lemon's Avatar
Electro Lemon at 05/30/2009 21:47
Destructoid: The Game.
NihonTiger90's Avatar
NihonTiger90 at 05/30/2009 21:52
IT's just a dream, probably. Nothing more.
adultswim810's Avatar
adultswim810 at 05/30/2009 21:58
this sounds hilarious
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 05/30/2009 22:30
Pissing contest. Also, why 300,000? Why not 250k or 400k?
Qraze's Avatar
Qraze at 05/30/2009 22:31
let me file this under "misled hype" and pipe dreams".
Takeshi's Avatar
Takeshi at 05/30/2009 22:41
Desmond Tutu approves?


Yeah dude, it's like this and that and those combined. Then suddenly you've got 300,000 players!
Jon B's Avatar
Jon B at 05/30/2009 23:02
Don't ruin my dreams of a Ghost in the Shell future, goddamnit Microsoft!
Havoc Fang's Avatar
Havoc Fang at 05/31/2009 01:58
"Hey, Sony? You know all the times YOU made a game just to combat something we made first? Yeah? Well...Revenge."
Guttlesswonder's Avatar
Guttlesswonder at 05/31/2009 02:48
This is not going to be any kind of shooter, or a game involving much physics. I think the massive poker tournament or some kind of MMO. Intill I hear something concrete besides a projected number of players for something I am going to file this under "Who gives a crap."
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar
The Amazing Shenazin at 05/31/2009 04:38
is going to be a Snow Crash Metaverse game?
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 05/31/2009 11:36
what a nightmare!!!!

16 xboxplayers in any COD/HALO lobby are already maddening enough... imagine that but then 18750 times worse!

MADNESS I tell you!
dirtyd89's Avatar
dirtyd89 at 05/31/2009 12:06
Yeah right.
I'll believe when I see it.
It's probably just some MMO in that case PS3 already has MMOs like that so no big deal.
fetusmilk's Avatar
fetusmilk at 05/31/2009 12:56
soo what happens if more than 300,000 people want to play? then what microsoft? then what?
smurfee mcgee's Avatar
smurfee mcgee at 05/31/2009 13:58
It's for CoD 7. some serious war.
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