Microsoft working on four free-to-play games

Microsoft's Lift London studio is working on four projects, it has announced, all of which are free-to-play titles for tablet, mobile, and other connected platforms.

Speaking today at the Develop games conference in Brighton, Lift London boss and ex-Rare developer Lee Schuneman said the games are "powered by the cloud" and "working across all Microsoft platforms."

Lift London, which employs over 40 people, was unveiled by Microsoft executive Phil Harrison in January 2013, and the studio's focus is squarely on creating new IP for connected devices. Schuneman says that a 21st century audience needs to rethink what the oft-used gaming term 'AAA' actually stands for.

While the term AAA is normally associated with big-budget commercial games designed for core audiences, Schuneman says "AAA is not about team size, or budget, or what device it's on," but is instead "about quality and audience scale."

"Clash of Clans is AAA. Halo is AAA," adds Schuneman, saying that modern game development is "about how you represent your audience and generate content that's culturally relevant."