Microsoft bets high on e-gaming

SEATTLE - Gaming technology company GameSpy said on Wednesday that it had signed a deal with Microsoft Corp. that will help turn the software maker's personal computer games into online games.

Financial terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Irvine, California-based GameSpy will provide software technology that will allow Microsoft to manage and create online communities for PC-based games, including the PC version of "Halo", the blockbuster action game that debuted on Microsoft's Xbox video game console.

The company stated that it will focus on creating games while GameSpy "handles the mechanics of putting and keeping our games online."

That strategy is in contrast to Xbox Live, where Microsoft has developed much of its own technology to enable online game play for its Xbox console.