Havok to join Microsoft

[natr0n]

Today, we are proud to announce that Microsoft has acquired Havok, the leading provider of 3D physics, from Intel.

As we welcome Havok to the Microsoft family, we will continue to work with developers to create great gaming experiences, and continue to license Havok’s development tools to partners. We believe that Havok is a fantastic addition to Microsoft’s existing tools and platform components for developers, including DirectX 12, Visual Studio and Microsoft Azure.

Havok is an amazing technology supplier in the games industry and the leading real-time physics creator. We saw an opportunity to acquire Havok to deliver great experiences for our fans. Throughout the company’s history, they’ve partnered with Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and many others to create more than 600 games including Halo, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Destiny, Dark Souls and The Elder Scrolls.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Havok continues our tradition of empowering developers by providing them with the tools to unleash their creativity to the world. We will continue to innovate for the benefit of development partners. Part of this innovation will include building the most complete cloud service, which we’ve just started to show through games like “Crackdown 3.”

Havok shares Microsoft’s vision for empowering people to create worlds and experiences that have never been seen before, and we look forward to sharing more of this vision in the near future.


http://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2015/10/02/havok-to-join-microsoft/


This is surprising and exciting news for gamers.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

YES! I was just looking into Havok a few weeks ago and it looks to me like Intel doesn't give a shit about them. I'm very, very glad someone (maybe not so happy about Microsoft) acquired them so they can get back to work competing with PhysX. I really hope Microsoft integrates hardware accelerated Havok into the DirectX API to put PhysX to bed for good.

 

[RejZoR]

Now that's actually a great news. Finally we are moving into the realm of standardized physics (mostly because Microsoft also maintains DirectX library). Hopefully Microsoft will finally make a standard physics API for DirectX so we can finally see hardware accelerated physics that actually affect gameplay because everyone will support it, not just one graphics vendor. Everything I've seen with PhysX was just pointless eye candy. I want physics to mean something like they did in Half-Life 2. They were CPU based and they affected gameplay more than all PhysX gimmicks combined.

 

[AsRock]

YES! I was just looking into Havok a few weeks ago and it looks to me like Intel doesn't give a shit about them. I'm very, very glad someone (maybe not so happy about Microsoft) acquired them so they can get back to work competing with PhysX. I really hope Microsoft integrates hardware accelerated Havok into the DirectX API to put PhysX to bed for good.

I hope MS don't put it in a darkroom with all their games lol. But if they do what your saying that be pretty awesome.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Microsoft actually has a reason to own Havok (read: Xbox) where Intel never did. I think Intel bought Havok on the assumption that Xeon Phi would be a consumer graphics card. The hardware never panned out so Havok has been same old-same old the last six years.

Microsoft ain't going to touch PhysX so buying Havok is really their only way to get a physics engine instead of starting from scratch. I'm sure they were pressured into it by third party Xbox developers. Intel isn't really going to fight to keep Havok either because, in hindsight, it was a mistake for them to acquire it in the first place.

 

[AsRock]

Still bothers me, they might allow it just for the XBox. I find it hard to trust MS even more so when it comes to PC gaming.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

XInput was designed specifically for Xbox but it was included in the Windows DirectX package as well. The thing I'm worried about is open source physics engine--there may never be one.

 

[john_]

We will have to wait and see what MS will do with Havok, but probably they will do more than Intel did. At least they wouldn't have a problem to use GPUs to assist in physics effects the main CPU. And probably they will use the GPUs that way, so no one is left outside, not like Nvidia that locks the drivers. And I never had problem with Nvidia keeping PhysX running on their own GPUs ONLY, but disabling the PhysX and CUDA support when AMD's GPU was used as primary, was at least dishonest. We saw in the past that it was possible to be done through patches or the 257 driver that slipped unlocked, even in Nvidia's own drivers when having two Nvidia's GPUs you can force it to run on the one GPU only.
Anyway, lets hope MS does something right with Havok and as it was said, let's hope they integrate the engine in DX12 to get an advantage over Vulkan.

 

[qubit]

This so makes me wanna play Half-Life 2.

 

[NC37]

M$ can't really limit havok features to XBone. The hardware is near identical to the PS4 and also even if it was special added features that wouldn't be seen in PS4, the hardware is so much weaker. They'd likely be shooting Xbone's already hamstrung performance in the only foot it has to stand on. Havok may play out better down the line. Specially if they can integrate it in Xbone's successor and really give Sony the finger.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Ever since they've been around, I've always found Euphoria to be far more interesting than Havok. IMO they don't get enough credit for what they've done and how much more they could be doing for gaming, if not for most devs not caring enough about accurate model physics.

And yes, I know Havok deal specifically in effects physics, so please, don't try to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The thing I'm not sure about is that Havok, presently, is a profitable enterprise because it is sold to developers. If Microsoft integrates Havok into DirectX, it won't make revenue anymore. I wonder if Microsoft will make a free Havok implementation in DirectX that is CPU-based and a paid implementation that is GPU-based.

 

[natr0n]

http://www.havok.com/products/

they make a lot more things now

click a product is has a video for each

 

[Frag_Maniac]

they make a lot more things now

Yes I know, but specifically regarding skeletal simulation, Euphoria is far ahead of anyone. Example, one of Havok's primary examples of model animation is imparting physics onto dismembered ragdoll models, which actually looks as strange as lifeless models flopping over like, well, ragdolls. It looks robotic and glitchy.

 

[newtekie1]

Does Havok even have anything hardware accelerated?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Havok FX was supposed to be but looking through the materials, it doesn't give the impression that it is. They did show a demo of GPU accelerated physics back in 2013 though:

Maybe Havok FX finally is GPU accelerated? On AMD at least.

 

[Atomic77]

I have no Idea what havok is but I have played half-life before. from what I gather its suppose to be really cool.

 

[remixedcat]

Havok physics + windows azure =

 

[AsRock]

Funny way of putting it really the title and all, it's more MS gobbled yet another company up.

 

[remixedcat]

If they buy out EA there's gon be epic table flippin

 

[Drone]

Never played anything havok related so I don't really care anyway but whenever MS buys something they do it for Xbox. Gotta be good news for XOne players. But then again how many times MS bought something just to forget about it.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I have no Idea what havok is but I have played half-life before. from what I gather its suppose to be really cool.

Well, Havok physics have been used in Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed games, Battlefield 3, Binary Domain, Blacksite: Area 51, Brothers in Arms games, Company of Heroes, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Darksiders II, Dead Rising, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Devil May Cry, Oblivion, Skyrim, Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, FEAR, FEAR 2, HL2, Hellgate London, Hydrophobia, I Am Alive, Just Cause, Just Cause 2, L.A. Noire, MoH: Pacific Assault, MoH: Warfighter. OF: Dragon Rising, Painkiller, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Saints Row games, Sleeping Dogs, Star Craft II, The Last of Us, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, World in Conflict.

Anyway, there's alot more, but you get the picture. Chances are good everyone has played at least one game with Havok in it.

 

[AsRock]

M$ can't really limit havok features to XBone. The hardware is near identical to the PS4 and also even if it was special added features that wouldn't be seen in PS4, the hardware is so much weaker. They'd likely be shooting Xbone's already hamstrung performance in the only foot it has to stand on. Havok may play out better down the line. Specially if they can integrate it in Xbone's successor and really give Sony the finger.

MS can do what they see fit with it, they own it.