Report: Microsoft Has Started Testing Casual Games in Teams
- Laurent Giret
- Jun 14, 2022
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16
Microsoft could be planning to bring games to Microsoft Teams. According to a report from The Verge, the company has started testing casual games in Teams internally, imagining scenarios where these games could be used to lighten the atmosphere during video calls.
“Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the software maker has started testing games like Solitaire, Connect 4, and Wordament inside Microsoft Teams. The casual games are designed to allow colleagues to play against each other during meetings,” The Verge wrote.
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The report also says that Microsoft sees games playing a larger role in Teams in the future, especially now that the company continues to work on its own version of the metaverse. “Alongside testing casual games in Teams, Microsoft also envisions virtual spaces inside Teams where colleagues can network and socialize with games,” the report reads.
Microsoft declined to comment on The Verge’s report, and it’s possible that games in Teams won’t go beyond the internal testing phase. Despite Microsoft doing work to make Teams use fewer resources, the app is known to be a notorious battery hog, and it’s possible that adding games to the app may not improve things on that front.
Of course, you may also argue that games may be an unnecessary distraction in an app that’s already trying to do so many different things. However, after Zoom recently introduced 3D animal avatars to use in meetings, maybe the idea of playing Solitaire during a meeting isn’t actually that bad.