Microsoft is set to introduce its Age of Empires game on iPhones and Android as the software giant takes aim at the mobile game market.
The partnership with Klab Inc of Japan takes Microsoft’s games revenue away from solely relying on the Xbox franchise and increases its presence in the blossoming mobile market that is growing at a faster rate than traditional video gaming.
The move by the giant corporation is supposed to drive up the stakes in the gaming world, with game makers such as Nintendo finding themselves on the defensive.
There has been no mention however of the company launching the games on its own Windows Phone operating system.
The mobile version of the popular game is expected to be released before March 2014, with shares in Klab surging 18 per cent following the announcement.
Microsoft and Klab have in the meantime clarified that the deal involves just Age of Empires and not other games as earlier reports had indicated.
Microsoft has also said that the game will only be released in English.
