Microsoft is holding a networking mixer to wine and dine OnLive staff into a potential job offer.
OnLive may still be alive and kicking, and it is still business as usual for the game-streaming company as far as it is concerned. The company insists that rumors of its demise have been “way overstated” and that there are plans to hire more employees, yet more than half of its former staff remain as “non-hired” entities. OnLive is still planning on rehiring workers lost in the shuffle once the company can secure additional funds, but Microsoft appears to be looking to capitalize on the free pool of cloud gaming talent by holding a networking mixer for former OnLive employees.
The event details specifically call out for “individuals and teams affected by the OnLive transition” to give them the chance to mingle and socialize with the company’s hiring managers. The event claims to have employment positions open in Redmond, WA and Mountain View, CA for anyone willing to take up the offer. “There are big projects in the pipeline for the rest of 2012 and beyond, and the team is growing rapidly to support the work ahead,” the advertisement promises. “We’d love to have YOU be part of our team!”
Given that Sony recently purchased Gaikai for a cool $380 million, it sounds like Microsoft wants to accelerate its attempts to cut out a bigger slice of the cloud-gaming pie. Microsoft previously considered OnLive as a potential target for acquisition, claiming that the game-streaming technology could be considered a threat against Microsoft’s upcoming next-gen console, but it wasn’t prepared to pull the trigger on a deal. It’s certainly more cost-effective to make offers to workers who are in between jobs rather than pay for the use of patented tech, and now it seems that Microsoft has its chance.
Source: Eventbrite
