Microsoft has joined the Open 3D Foundation (O3DF) as a Premier member, joining Adobe, AWS, Huawei, Intel, and Niantic. Microsoft’s involvement in the project adds a lot of knowledge and thought leadership to the project, demonstrating how crucial it is for the industry to work together to create a high-fidelity, fully-featured open source 3D engine that is free of commercial conditions.
Paul Oliver, Microsoft’s Principal Group Program Manager, will join the O3DF Governing Board, demonstrating his commitment to the Foundation’s goal of ensuring balanced collaboration and input that fits the needs of the Open 3D community. The Foundation’s strategic direction and stewardship of 3D visualisation and simulation initiatives are guided by the Governing Board’s innovative interactions with stakeholders.
“Microsoft’s roots in creativity run deep and we want to help creators wherever they are, whoever they are, and whatever platform they’re creating for,” said Oliver. “Having the Linux Foundation create the Open 3D Foundation is a fantastic step towards helping more creators everywhere and we are excited to be a part of it.”
Microsoft’s continuous commitment to democratising game production and making its tools and technology available to game creators all over the world is reflected in this step. The company released its Game Development Kit to all developers via GitHub last year. Microsoft is extending its commitment to open up technology to everyone with its new partnership with O3DF.
“We are elated to have Microsoft join the Open 3D Foundation as a Premier member,” said Royal O’Brien, Executive Director of O3DF and General Manager of Games and Digital Media at the Linux Foundation. “Having incredible industry veterans like Microsoft contributing and helping drive innovation with the community for 3D engines is a huge benefit to the open source community and the companies that use it alike.”
