Microsoft announced on Wednesday a new addition to its Workplace Teams app — multiplayer games.
According to The Washington Post, Teams now allows users to participate in four possible multiplayer games with co-workers during a meeting. This is Microsoft's attempt to make Teams a premier destination for collaboration and work.
The new addition to the app allows workers to remotely play games and even strengthen relationships in the workplace, per CNBC. The four new games on Teams include Solitaire, Minesweeper, Wordament and Icebreakers.
The four games were developed by Xbox Game Studios’ Microsoft Casual Games.
The games can support up to 250 players but only need two at minimum. Microsoft cited a study from Brigham Young University about the effectiveness of teams playing video games, according to The Verge.
The BYU study found teams that played short video games were 20% more productive than teams who played traditional team-building activities.
The addition to Teams comes after a post-pandemic work-from-home period and as workforces shift to remote and hybrid models. Experts say that moderate gaming can improve productivity during the new workforce, since workers may not be connecting in the office as often.
Teams will also offer spectator views so workers can just watch the game unfold. Spectator mode allows users to engage and follow the action.
Administrators can access meeting details of how users participated. They will also be able to see how much time was spent on the games collectively, but not how much an individual spends on the games.