Over the last year there have been a few big tech companies embracing the world of both blockchain and cryptocurrency. Some of these big tech companies have been making very high profile moves in the crypto world such as Facebook with its highly publicised Libra currency. While other companies like IBM have made more low-key movements to expand their cryptocurrency operations.

Now it seems that Facebook has awakened the other huge tech companies and Microsoft is beginning to step (tentatively, perhaps) into the world of cryptocurrency.

Microsoft Partners with Enjin

For a bit of context, Microsoft are finding that they can make more and more money through their gaming arm and there has been a huge amount of investment and product strategy around Xbox One and its highly anticipated successor. In other words, Microsoft know that there is a gaming revolution in the pipeline and they want to be the right side of it.

This has taken them in a few new directions. From offering the ability to download and play games on subscription with the Xbox Gamepass with a view to streaming games in a Netflix style system in the future to exploring blockchain gaming ventures.

Step in Enjin. A blockchain gaming company that has secured investment from not only Microsoft but also partnered with other tech companies like Samsung.

How Does Enjin and Microsoft’s Partnership Work?

Well perhaps unsurprisingly it is more an investment in the technology rather than an investment with a direct intention to see an immediate return. The premise is that Enjin provides a blockchain program (Azure Heroes) that rewards people for advancing the project with a token called badgers.

The rewards are internal to the game itself with a view towards progressing blockchain technology further by “playing” the game.

Users can be rewarded for the following;

• Building code
• Coaching other “gamers” to help them be productive to the “game”
• Creating demos for the project
• Completing specific Azure Heroes challenges like “recommending friends”
• Blogging and sharing Azure Heroes across web and social platforms in order to facilitate growth.

The concept is actually a good one and it does reward users with crypto tokens for fulfilling various tasks. It isn’t however a limitless project and the reward scheme is not perpetual. There are only a verified number of Badgers on the blockchain and this means there is a big scramble for users to move onto the platform and earn while they can.

Conclusion

Whether or not Azure Heroes provides any meaningful improvement to blockchain tech remains to be seen but the commitment of big tech companies to smaller projects that may one day be fruitful is a very refreshing attitude. Especially in contrast to big tech companies who want to steamroll the market with their own product to get richer quicker.

While there are other big tech companies working with smaller companies behind the scenes, it is good to see Microsoft throw their name into the hat and the hope is more progressive companies have started to sit up and pay attention to cryptocurrency.