Shadow focuses on cloud gaming services at publishers and opens Shadow for Makers

Shadow unveiled two new cloud computing services for businesses and also launched a new service called Shadow for Makers.

This comes after being based in France Shadowthat started with cloud gaming, has undergone a makeover in recent years.

The company announced this at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The new services are tailored for game publishers and studios: a flexible and controlled game testing and demo solution, Echo Sessions, and a tool to deliver a secure game demo to thousands of users, Virtual Booth, said Sébastien Kaiser, chief strategy officer and chief development officer at Shadow, in an interview with GamesBeat.

Originally the company that pioneered the high-end cloud PC, Shadow had a strong gaming-oriented focus. Time has passed and this has evolved – Shadow now supports the activities of architects, 3D artists, IT managers and many more, while the consumer users can play and do much more, thanks to the flexibility offered by the cloud computing -service. However, the company still has a focus on gamers.

>>Follow VentureBeat’s ongoing GDC 2023 coverage<

Following initial projects with partner Bandai Namco, for which the company supported Elden Ring’s PR campaign with dedicated cloud-powered tools, the company is building a complete suite of custom services for game studios, developers and publishers, as well as PR and QA companies support them.

Echo Sessions provides multiple controlled access to a game. It is a flexible yet controlled and secure game testing and demo solution, available from the cloud. It enables various applications such as PR and other external testing, QA and other internal testing, and to synchronize between development teams. From a few units to a few hundred, Echo Sessions can be deployed quickly and include options such as full recording, live monitoring and interactions, live and post-play feedback.

Shadow is already providing this solution to several partners, including most recently with Daedalic Entertainment to support previews of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum title. These solutions have been developed and tested over the past few months, and it was an early version that helped Bandai Namco Europe get the preview of the amazing Elden Ring last year.

Echo Sessions is now available in Early Access in Europe and North America.

Virtual booth

Virtual Booth is a tool for publishers and studios that want to build momentum around their title without the constraints of a physical event, while also collecting valuable data and sales information. It’s a unique way to distribute a demo of their games through virtual events, where players can instantly play custom demos on dedicated GPUs, through a simple browser access. It is designed for the post-COVID era.

Each Virtual Booth consists of a series of demo pods that are accessible in the cloud and can hold up to 100,000 players. Before the demo starts, players can share their enthusiasm on social media to win extra game time. During the demo, development teams can collect data about what worked and what didn’t. At the end of the demo, players can give their opinion on different aspects of the game and finally receive a customized bonus. It will be demonstrated at GDC and will be available in Fall 2023.

Shadow for Makers

Creator Shadow is tailor made for creators. These new offerings are tailored for creatives, developers, freelancers, and anyone who wants the freedom to access powerful cloud PCs from anywhere.

Shadow has been around for nine years and is launching its original Shadow PC technology designed for consumers, specifically targeting gamers. With its initial success, it quickly became apparent that the technology had the potential to help a much wider audience, including creatives and professionals, achieve great things from the cloud, providing more flexibility needed in a post-pandemic world .

To better serve the many creatives who have shown an interest in Shadow PCs over the years, Shadow is today announcing a new product segment: Shadow for Makers. This vertical is for individuals who need more power to build and create everything they need and want.

Shadow for Makers allows you to explore the different facets of your talents, including 3D modeling, web development, video production, creating virtual works and designing a future professional path. With Shadow for Makers you can choose the Shadow PC configuration that fits your own monthly budget instead of having to buy a new device every time. Turn any laptop, tablet, phone or even Mac into a powerful Windows PC and creative station, and access it from anywhere: just launch the app and you’re good to go.

“Shadow for Makers is a game-changer for those who need the right power to realize their creations. With Shadow for Makers, we are empowering individuals to unlock their full potential and achieve great things,” said Sébastien Kaiser, Chief Strategy and Dev Officer of Shadow, in a statement.

Shadow for Makers is now available in North America with two different configurations: both Spark and the force-induced Zenith.

Company update

Shadow migrated all its servers to OVHcloud’s water-cooled data centers in May 2021 and has gained new leadership in recent years. It migrated all customers to a more modern infrastructure and created a new configuration for consumers called Power Upgrade.

It has also launched services in six new territories: Canada, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Austria. For professionals, it launched Shadow for Enterprise and for Makers with key partners such as Bandai Namco, architectural firms and more. And it launched Shadow Drive in Europe.

All of this helped deliver double-digit growth over the past year. About 30% of customers are in France, 30% in the rest of Europe and another 30% in North America. Its fleet of 30,000 graphics processing units is one of the largest in the world and has 17,000 Power Upgrade users. There are eight data centers.

Since announcing business-to-business offerings in May 2022, Shadow has collected 2,300 prospect leads and closed deals with SNCF and Bandai Namco. The company has nearly 200 employees, up from 125 a few years ago.